The Golden State Warriors played their symbolic post-trade deadline game Thursday night, against the Phoenix Suns just seven hours after the deadline ended and less than 24 hours after trading Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield and Trayce Jackson-Davis, while receive Kristaps Porziņģis and a second-round pick.
It’s always interesting to see how a team will perform post-deadline or post-trade. You may remember last year’s game, where the team, openly emotional after trading Andrew Wiggins just before tipoff, brought the energy of a funeral to a loss to the lottery-bound Utah Jazz.
This Thursday was different. Of course, the Warriors had kicked out three players who were loved and respected in the locker room. But in the grand scheme of things, it was a quieter deadline than it could have been, and that was reflected in the way the Warriors played.
Draymond Green, who was on the trading block for the first time in his career, knew his historic run with the Warriors would continue. Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, De’Anthony Melton, Quinten Post, Al Horford and Gary Payton II, who had seen their names floating around in rumors and hypothetical deals, knew this was still their home for the foreseeable future. Gui Santos and Will Richard, seeing that the team had not gone all-in, could be sure that they would benefit from regular developmental minutes in the future. And Pat Spencer, playing his final game of eligibility on a two-way contract, was aware that cap space and roster space had been created that would allow him to sign a guaranteed deal for the remainder of the year.
And so the warriors who took the field were neither tense, nor nervous, nor sad. They were free, joyful and full of energy.
The task ahead of them, however, was difficult. The Suns have been one of the best teams in the NBA over the past month and are fully clicking: Even with Devin Booker out, they were heavy favorites against a Warriors team that is still playing without Steph Curry (and was quite shorthanded after trading three players, while Porziņģis is not yet with the team).
With only two centers at his disposal, Steve Kerr opted to open the game with a small ball formation, starting the quintet of Melton, Spencer, Moody, Santos and Green. Immediately, this small lineup sounded a warning signal when big Phoenix center Mark Williams climbed over Green for an offensive rebound on the game’s first possession. One crab dribble, drop step and jump hook later, and the Suns were on the board with size and power that Golden State would be hard-pressed to match.
But the Dubs used their lack of size to their advantage, with a perimeter-oriented attack that was almost comical. Half from inability to penetrate and half from looking good, the Warriors’ first eight shots were all three-pointers. They made four, prompting an early Phoenix timeout and a 12-9 Golden State advantage.
The Warriors were giving Phoenix some shots at the other end of the court, but it mostly didn’t matter. Because of the size advantage, the Suns were content to miss shots, knowing they would simply get more; eight of their first 14 points came on second-chance opportunities, and they fueled a 10-2 run that put Phoenix in control of the game and forced a Kerr timeout.
By the end of the timeout, Kerr had Santos back in the lineup, and he rewarded his decision by immediately draining a three and going to work doing everything on defense, on the glass and in free-ball situations.
And yet, the Warriors remained behind the three-point line. A hilarious 19 of their first 20 shots came from distance, as the game began to resemble a three-point contest. Despite their contrasting styles, neither team could separate themselves and the Suns led 29-25 after the first quarter.
It wasn’t always quite a defensive game, but it certainly was early in the second quarter when the Warriors were absolutely putting pressure on the Suns. Their defense created looks for their offense, and Golden State went on a 12-2 run to open the quarter as they began to take control of the game. They still lived almost entirely at three, but with a renewed defense – and a jump in effort and rebounding ability – they were starting to look good. Some of that rebounding improvement happened as expected: Although Kerr started the game without a center, he played the second quarter with a two-center formation, inserting both Post and Horford into the game as the Warriors began to tie the game in the paint.
At halftime, the Warriors led 59-55, and had attempted 37 threes… and just one free throw. In that respect, the game was a lot like Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Philadelphia 76ers…but in almost every other way, it was a much more enjoyable game.
Except one. In that game against Philly, the Warriors played tight in the first half and fell apart in the second half. Unfortunately, that started to be the case for the Warriors against the Suns as well. Unlike the Sixers, it wasn’t about energy or effort. Kerr tore into his team after Tuesday’s loss, criticizing their lack of heart — an understandable void given the looming deadline.
But free and fearless on Thursday, the Warriors played with excellent energy, although in the second half it looked, for a moment, like it wouldn’t matter. But before the bad came the good: The Warriors came out of the gates, simply bringing more energy than their counterparts and pushing the lead to double digits. The defense was great, the shots were falling and life was good.
Then, Phoenix drained three straight points, forcing a Kerr timeout, and brutally hit Golden State in the face with a dunk out of the timeout. The effort and defensive performance remained solid, but it felt like the Warriors were hanging on to the lead with a tenuous grip. Finally, with just over three minutes left in the third quarter, Phoenix managed to erase the entire deficit and took its first lead in a long time.
The wheels were starting to come off for the Dubs. There were a handful of turnovers, with Kerr and the players believing fouls should have been called. As a result, their frustration grew, and it was quite visible. Phoenix was on an 18-5 run, although the Warriors didn’t let the score get out of hand. They led 82-76 going into the final quarter, and while they were clearly still in the game, it was evident that it could slip away from them at any moment.
But it was the start of the fourth quarter that really made it look like the Warriors were going to lose. On the first possession, Jamaree Bouyea drained a jumper. The Warriors missed a shot, then Collin Gillespie made a three. They turned the ball over, then Gillespie made another three. Just like that, the Suns had scored eight points in less than two minutes, and it was a 14-point game. It was now or never for the Warriors, and without Curry or Jimmy Butler III, you’d be forgiven for assuming “never” would win this battle.
This is not the case. The Warriors responded brilliantly. They held serve for a few minutes, preventing the match from turning into a blowout, but yet to put together a good run. Then the run came: a 12-3 spurt that brought them within four points with four minutes remaining. It was now a hard-fought, hard-fought defense game, with deflections galore and plenty of bodies hitting the floor on seemingly every possession. The score improved to 16-5 with two minutes remaining, with the deficit now reduced to two points. And then, under thick tension, the teams played a full minute without a bucket. The Warriors trailed 97-95 as the clock ticked from minutes to seconds, but they had the ball.
The excitement was just beginning.
Melton, who has been playing at a near All-Star level pace of late, broke down the defense, got to the rim and artistically completed a game-tying finger roll with 55.8 seconds remaining. It was just early enough that the Suns couldn’t stall and play for a guaranteed two-on-one. They worked on the clock a bit, though, in hopes of getting it done, but the Warriors had different plans.
Moody, whose defense was excellent all night, blocked a Gillespie shot as Santos escaped. The result? A Santos transition layup with 28.7 seconds left. The Warriors had reversed the two-for-one and led 99-97, knowing they would get another possession even if Phoenix scored.
What followed was one of the craziest sequences of the season. As the shot clock wound down for the Suns – after a sensational defensive possession by the Dubs – Dillon Brooks, restarted offensively, was forced to launch a very difficult three. He missed it, but the rebound flew long and high, entirely up for grabs. The smallest player on the court rightfully grabbed it, Gary Payton II rising above the trees for the rebound.
He was immediately hounded by a Phoenix team that needed to foul or force a turnover quickly. They effectively avoided the first and almost caused the second. Payton, surrounded by tense limbs, desperately tried to clear the ball to Horford and appeared to throw it out of bounds. Horford ran to the baseline, caught the ball as it fell out of bounds and threw it back in play, attempting to save it. It looked like it would end up in Gillespie’s hands, with enough time for another shot, but Moody played the role of a free safety, turning a deflection into a 50-50 ball and winning this effort-driven coin toss. Falling to the ground as the ball drifted toward the sideline, Moody dove and sent the ball downfield into the waiting hands of Melton, alone at the other end of the field.
As the clock reached zero, Melton dribbled, jumped and put the ball down. He slipped through the net as the buzzer sounded and the Warriors, who had finished the game 22-5, walked away with a 101-97 victory.
The Warriors were outscored 32-22 in the paint, but found other ways to win. Despite early struggles, they somehow cruised past Phoenix 53-42 and had 17 fast break points, while only allowing nine. They finished the night 20-for-55 from three, for a 36.4% clip.
Spencer led the way with a career-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, and added six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Santos was terrific, with 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting, plus four rebounds, seven assists, a steal and a block. Melton had 17 points and three steals while posting a +21 mark, while Payton finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. The only Warrior who struggled was Podziemski, who only played 12 minutes and withdrew from the game as he battled an illness.
Brooks led the Suns with 24 points, but it took him 24 shots to get there. Grayson Allen added 21 and Williams finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Warriors improved to 28-24 and will now return to California, but remain on the road: They will visit the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. PT on ABC. Porziņģis is expected to be with the team by then and, if cleared by doctors, will make his debut for the Warriors.
