SAN FRANCISCO _ A lot has changed since Phoenix Suns center Aron Baynes fell onto and broke Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry's left hand. While the first 36 minutes of Friday's game served as a reminder of the all-league scorer the Warriors lost on that Oct. 30 night, the final 12 minutes reflected just how far this team has come.
Almost two months to the day, the Suns returned to Chase Center to face a Warriors team once left reeling in the wake of Curry's injury, only to pivot to a season of development, then enter Friday's game on a three-game win streak. In their 105-96 win over the Suns, the Warriors (9-24) showed the kind of poise that has recently stabilized their season.
In the fourth quarter, guard D'Angelo Russell scored 12 points and Alec Burks scored nine as the Warriors outscored the Suns 39-18 in the final frame. The Warriors trailed by 12 points after the first three periods, but Russell made jumper after jumper to carve into Phoenix's lead.
Burks' layup tied the game at 89 with 4:45 left to play, and Glenn Robinson III's put-back gave the Warriors their first lead since the 7:32 mark of the first quarter.
Russell finished with 31 points on 10-for-25 shooting (4-for-11 from 3-point range) and six assists, while Burks finished with 13 points off the bench.
Forward Draymond Green's 3-pointer put the Warriors up seven with less than two minutes left in the game, sealing the win from beyond the arc just as he did against the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day.
The Warriors have now strung together four straight wins and are playing their best basketball of the season. Golden State had struggled to find an offensive identity in the immediate aftermath of Curry's season-altering injury.
First, head coach Steve Kerr shifted to a scheme that encouraged Russell's pick-and-roll abilities. However, when Russell was sidelined with a thumb injury, he crafted an offense predicated on ball movement that he leaned on Green to facilitate.
With the team healthy and Curry and Klay Thompson seated on the bench, the Warriors on Friday resembled the Warriors of the last few years: The margin for error is widening, players are stepping up, and a snow-ball of a quarter can sometimes be enough to get the job done.
Golden State entered the night with the third-worst offensive rating in the NBA, and the first three quarters _ in which they shot 37.1% overall _ reinforced the fact that these Warriors don't have many consistent sources of offense. But the final quarter showed the grit the Warriors have displayed all season, and the late-game execution that has recently carried them to wins.
The Suns (11-20) were led by guard Devin Booker, who scored 34 points on 13-of-24 shooting. However, the Warriors managed to hang in the game by winning the turnover battle, 26-to-10.
Just as Friday's rematch provided a yardstick for the growth the developing Warriors have made, Saturday's game against the Dallas Mavericks will be yet another data point.
On Nov. 20, the Warriors suffered a season-worst 48-point loss in Dallas. They will enter the second game of this back-to-back set confident in the progress they've made.
