Moral Victory? (Warriors 103, Suns 107)

The Golden State Warriors nearly had this one. You could argue that they should have had this one. But as Adam tweeted after the game, 47 minutes of great basketball were undone by “1 decisive minute of disasters.” Fouling Devin Booker off-ball when up 1 with Phoenix in the bonus. A gobsmackingly horrible turnover to give the Suns the ball back without even putting pressure on them. Conceding a switch and failing to get the ball out of CP3’s hands. And, just to rub salt in the wound, falling prey to the “foul up 3” strategy that the Dubs have failed to execute numerous times this season. How you feel about this game depends on whether you put stock in the first 47 minutes, which saw the Dubs compete, contend, and take it to the reigning Western Conference champs and best team in the NBA, or the last 60 seconds, where Phoenix ripped their souls out. Again, it was the supposedly heady veterans making silly mistakes down the stretch, as Klay Thompson committed the foul on Booker and Draymond Green traveled on the ensuing possession. This 107-103 loss drops the Warriors to the 4 seed in the West, behind Phoenix, Memphis, and Dallas. On one hand – the Dubs, at full strength, can certainly compete with Phoenix. On the other hand…at this point in the season, the Dubs’ crunch-time execution can only be called a liability, one that is going to cost them dearly in postseason seeding and perhaps beyond.

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