Curry Got the Warriors Back Into the Game. The Line Took Them Home.

Stephen Curry’s late work against Phoenix came from the least cinematic place on a basketball court. With the Warriors clinging to a one-point lead, he made two free throws with 7.4 seconds left, then added one more after Phoenix cut the lead to two. Golden State beat Phoenix 116-113 at Chase Center on Monday night, and its final seven points came at the line.

The free throws finished the job. Curry’s third quarter made the comeback possible.

Phoenix had built a 17-point advantage and still led 57-51 at halftime, using Devin Booker’s scoring and a productive interior attack to keep Golden State chasing. The Warriors responded with 42 points in the third quarter, the sort of offensive burst that turns a long evening into a live one.

Curry scored 18 in that period, making four 3-pointers along with a driving layup, a pull-up jumper and two free throws.

The sequence had several answers to Phoenix’s attempts to pull away. The Suns moved ahead 73-64 early in the quarter. Curry then scored on a drive and a 15-foot running jumper as Golden State drew even at 73.

After Phoenix rebuilt a small cushion, Curry’s 22-foot 3-pointer cut the gap to two. His step-back 3-pointer later brought the Warriors within two again. By the end of the period, the teams were tied at 93.

It was a familiar Curry kind of rescue, but the surrounding work kept it from becoming a one-man act. Charles Bassey, the reserve center, scored 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting and collected eight rebounds. His third-quarter tip reduced Phoenix’s lead to nine, and his alley-oop dunk later made it a two-point game.

In the fourth, Bassey’s layup put Golden State ahead 95-93. He made two free throws with 4:39 remaining to tie the game at 106.

Those free throws came after Phoenix had answered another Warriors push. Jalen Green’s driving layup and tip-in dunk erased a four-point Golden State lead, leaving the game level at 104. Bassey restored the tie at 106, and Georges Niang followed with a 3-pointer that gave the Warriors a 109-106 advantage.

Bassey did not need a starring volume of touches to matter. He made a useful share of his shots and contributed eight rebounds, which gave Golden State something it could use on either end.

Phoenix had more than enough going for it to win. The Suns made 40 field goals to Golden State’s 36, scored 48 points in the paint to the Warriors’ 42 and got 26 points from Booker. Phoenix also led 106-104 after Dillon Brooks’ jumper with 5:29 remaining.

This was not a game in which the Warriors simply seized control and never looked back; the Suns repeatedly answered the home team’s runs.

But Phoenix’s advantages were outweighed by Golden State’s cleaner finish. The Warriors made 31 of 37 free throws, while the Suns went 22-for-30. Golden State also owned a 44-37 rebounding edge, including 12 offensive rebounds, and committed 13 turnovers to Phoenix’s 15.

The rebounding difference did not guarantee a win, and the foul-line margin did not arrive in isolation. Together, they gave Golden State more usable possessions and more points from the simplest available scoring opportunity.

Booker’s floating jumper cut the deficit to 109-108. Green’s dunk with 14.2 seconds left made it 113-112, leaving Phoenix close enough that one miss could have changed the ending. Curry’s two free throws pushed Golden State to 115, Green then made one at the other end.

Curry made one more for the final margin. The Warriors did not need another heroic 3-pointer. They needed to make the routine play while the pressure was highest.

Curry supplied the spectacular bridge from a 17-point hole. Bassey provided efficient support when the game became a possession-by-possession fight. The foul line handled the closing paperwork. For the Warriors, that combination was more durable than a highlight alone: one star reopened the game, a reserve center kept it balanced and free throws carried the result across the finish.

Sources

ESPN: final game record and play-by-play

NBA: official game report

NBA: final box score