Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER
A career-high tying 38 points by Jordan Poole wasn’t enough Wednesday night as the Warriors fell to the Phoenix Suns 107-103 at Chase Center. The loss, Golden State’s fourth win a row, dropped the Warriors into a season worst fourth place in the Western Conference behind Dallas and conclude the month of March with a 5-11 record.
Jordan Poole passes out of the lane on the way to a career-high tying 38-point, nine rebound, seven assist effort against the Suns during the Warriors loss to Phoenix Wednesday night at Chase Center.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 22 points and five rebounds, while Deandre Ayton (16 points, 16 rebounds) and Chris Paul (15 points, eight assists) helped Phoenix tie their all-time franchise record with their 62nd win of the season, matching the 1992-’93 Charles Barkley led squad that made it to the NBA Finals.
Booker’s two free throws with 34 seconds left put Phoenix ahead, and Draymond Green’s turn over moments later sealed the Warriors fate in spite of a spirited effort by Golden State who once again were playing short-handed without Steph Curry. The Suns led 50-48 at halftime, a lead they maintained after three quarters, in a back and forth game that was close throughout after the Warriors recovered from a slow start to the game where they quickly fell behind by 11 points.
Chris Paul whips a no-look pass in traffic during the Suns 107-103 win over the Warriors Wednesday night. Paul had 15 points and eight assists on the night.
Andrew Wiggins added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors while Klay Thompson was limited to 13 points while shooting just 5-21 from the field. Poole also added a career-high-tying nine rebounds.
Asked if he felt March was a breakout month for his young career, Poole stated “I feel good right now. It’s a playoff atmosphere. Every shot that I’m shooting I’ve shot at practice over and over and over and over. I’ve been running the same plays; we’ve been running the same plays since the beginning of the season. You kind of catch a rhythm. I guess where I am just personally right now feels good, but we’ve got to win games to be honest.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr added, “Love the competitiveness. It was a great performance in terms of our defense and our energy and just the fight from start to finish. We just couldn’t close the game. I thought (Poole’s) defensive effort was much better than the last couple of weeks. With Draymond out there, setting the tone and Andre (Iguodala) back, it lifts up the entire team defensively. Those guys are out there not just doing their jobs in terms of our schemes and coverages, but leading the group and making sure guys are staying engaged. We just felt much more connected defensively, overall, and Jordan was a big part of that.”
Andrew Wiggins grabs a rebound Wednesday night during the Warriors loss to Phoenix on the way to 19 points and eight boards.
With just six games remaining in the regular season, the Warriors return to the floor Saturday night at Chase Center for a nationally televised game with the Utah Jazz. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30pm.
GAME NOTES:
The Warriors and the Suns split their season series 2-2.
Golden State allowed an opponent season-high-tying 29 points off of 21 turnovers.
Draymond Green’s 31 minutes are the most he’s played since returning from injury.
