Led by 17 points by Carl Landry, Warriors hold nerve down the stretch to beat new-look Phoenix Suns 87-85...
Wednesday night saw Andrew Bogut wear the Golden State jersey for the first time. Goran Dragic and Luis Scola also started a new journey with the Steve Nash less - Suns, and the game turned out to be one of the best of the night.
Carl Landry came off the bench and scored 14 of his 17 point in the fourth quarter to help the Warriors seal a two point win and overcome a shocking night by newly extended point guard Stephen Curry. In his game after signing a
4 year - $ 44 million contract, Curry seemed terribly out of form. He missed his first ten shots, ended the night with 5 points, committed 4 turnovers, and nearly cost Warriors the game by missing two free throws in the dying moments of the game.
Klay Thompson was the only Golden State starter in double scoring figures. He went 6 of 16 from the floor for 16 points to go with 8 rebounds. Brandon Rush added 14 off the bench while Jarrett Jack had 10 points and 7 assists.
Andrew Bogut got only 18:29 in his first night for the Warriors and ended up with 8 points and 6 rebounds.
Goran Dragic led the Suns with 17 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds while Luis Scola had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The two teams matched each other in nearly every facet of the game, but at the end of the night, it was a 6 rebound difference (17-11) on the offensive glass which turned out to be the difference.
Phoenix started the game strongly, but the Warriors caught up soon and an 11-5 run in the second half of the quarter gave them a 22-17 lead. Phoenix ended the frame at 21-25, but a 17-4 run at the start of the second quarter put
them in a 17 point hole at 42-25. That was however the biggest Warrior lead in the game and keyed by Scola and Dragic, Phoenix started a comeback and pulled within 6, 42-48, at the interval.
Warriors managed to make it a 10 point game early in the second half, but an 18-6 Phoenix response gave them a 64-62 advantage with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter. Suns went into the final quarter with a two point lead and
extended it to 71-65 quickly. They were ahead by 76-70, before the Warriors punched back with an 11-2 spurt to take an 81-78 lead.
Landry ensured that the Warriors stayed ahead in the ensuing passage and when Curry got two free throws with the scores at 87-85 and only 4.4 seconds left on the clock, it seemed all over for the Suns. Curry however missed both
his charity shots, giving Suns one final chance to tie or win. Sebastian Telfair went for glory with a 3-point attempt, but it came after the buzzer, and the Warriors held on.
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