Stephen Curry had two field goals at halftime Monday night. By the end of the third quarter, the Golden State Warriors had erased a 17-point hole, and most of the damage was his.
Curry finished with 34 points, six rebounds and seven assists as Golden State beat the Phoenix Suns 116-113 at Chase Center for its fifth win in a row. He went 9 of 21 from the floor, 5 of 13 from 3-point range and 11 of 12 at the line in just under 33 minutes. ESPN's box matches that line.
A slow start
Phoenix had the better of the first half. Curry missed four of his five shots in the opening period, and the Suns stretched their lead to 41-24 midway through the second quarter. Down 55-39 after a Devin Booker jumper, Golden State ripped off 12 straight points and went to the locker room trailing 57-51, with Curry at nine points on 2-of-7 shooting.
Green leaves, Curry takes over
Curry opened the second half with a 3-pointer. Two minutes later the game turned physical. According to the Associated Press, Suns center Khaman Maluach pushed Draymond Green to the floor in the paint, Green came up and threw Maluach down, and Dillon Brooks raced in to confront him.
Green and Brooks shoved each other and drew technicals, Green's second of the sequence, and he was ejected. Booker's technical free throw put Phoenix up 68-57.
What followed was Curry's best stretch of the season. He buried a 28-footer, made two free throws, scored on a drive and tied the game at 73 with a running 15-foot pull-up. He added two more 3s, the last a 25-foot step-back with 4:03 left in the period.
His 18 points in the quarter powered a 42-point Golden State frame, and the teams went to the fourth tied at 93.
The finish
The Warriors took their first lead on a Charles Bassey layup to open the fourth, but Phoenix kept answering. Tempers rose again with 7:26 to play, when Miles Bridges was given a technical for shoving Bassey after the two tangled under the basket, the AP reported.
Georges Niang's 3-pointer with 3:54 left put Golden State ahead for good. Leading 109-108, Curry drew a foul from Brooks and made both free throws with 2:06 remaining, then stripped Booker on the next Phoenix possession. Booker fouled out with 57.6 seconds to go.