Stephen Curry had 28 points and Jimmy Butler III had 25 as the Golden State Warriors avenged a road loss two days earlier with a 119-116 victory over the Phoenix Suns in the second half of a home-and-home sequence in San Francisco yesterday (Philippine time).
Curry compiled a game-high nine rebounds and a game-high-tying six assists for the Warriors.
Devin Booker led all scorers with 38 points and Dillon Brooks added 22 for the Suns.
Green was given the heave-ho with 10:39 remaining in the second period after receiving two technical fouls in an incident that began when the Warriors veteran was caught shoving Collin Gillespie on their way down the court.
Down 67-64 at halftime and up 93-90 after a Gillespie three-pointer in the first minute of the fourth quarter, the Warriors went on a 10-2 run to take their biggest lead of the night. Gui Santos began the run with a layup and completed it with a three-pointer, the latter putting Golden State up 103-92 with 7:10 remaining.
The Warriors never trailed again, but with Booker scoring on three consecutive possessions, including a three-point play at the 2:35 mark, Phoenix rallied within 109-105 before Booker’s run ended with a missed three-pointer.
After a Curry three-pointer, the Suns had a shot at taking the lead when, down 115-113, Gillespie misfired on a three-pointer with 18.4 seconds left.
Curry then hit two free throws, but the visitors still weren’t done as Gillespie drilled a 25-footer with 10.9 seconds to go, making it a 117-116 game.
Curry then capped his 28-point night with a layup off an inbounds play for a three-point advantage, after which Booker was off-line with a buzzer-beating 40-footer that would have forced overtime.
Will Richard aided the Golden State cause with 20 points and Brandin Podziemski added 11, helping the Warriors’ bench outscore their counterparts 52-31.
Gillespie finished with 16 points, while Oso Ighodaro grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go with 10 points for the Suns, who lost for the third time in their last four games. (Field Level Media / Reuters)