When getting ejected might actually help
The Warriors beat the Suns 119-116 on Sunday night, and the strangest part? They did it without Draymond Green for most of the game. Green picked up two technical fouls in the second quarter and headed to the showers. Under normal circumstances, that's the kind of thing that derails a team. Against Phoenix, it seemed to light a fire under Golden State's collective ass.
Let's be clear about what happened here: the Suns came out absolutely humming. Dillon Brooks hit his first five shots. Devin Booker was dropping 11 in the first quarter alone. Phoenix was shooting 70% and had that look—you know the one—where everything feels inevitable. They led 44-32 and looked primed to blow the Warriors out.
Then Draymond left, and suddenly Steve Kerr's defense got teeth. The Suns stopped being able to find anything. They finished the third quarter 5-for-21 from the field. That's not unlucky. That's suffocating. That's the kind of defensive intensity that wins playoff games.
Butler finally remembered why he's an All-Star
Jimmy Butler scored 25 points, but more importantly, he stopped playing like a guy waiting for someone else to take over. Watch him this season and you see a player lacking conviction—too content to defer, too passive in the halfcourt. Against Phoenix, he attacked. He looked for his own offense early and often, especially in the first and third quarters. He set a tone instead of waiting for one to be set.
That's the Butler the Warriors need if they're climbing out of the Western Conference basement. Not the guy taking 12 shots per game and hoping the offense flows around him, but the one who understands his job is to make winning easier by being a threat the defense can't ignore.
The Booker vs. Curry duel nobody's talking about
Here's what's underrated about this game: Devin Booker was absolutely unguardable. Thirty-eight points on near-50% shooting, and he still lost. That's not a moral victory for Phoenix—it's actually worse. It means Golden State had to defend everyone else too well to let one guy beat them, even when he was playing at his level.
Curry finished with 28 points, which sounds less impressive next to Booker's 38, but here's the thing: Curry made the game-deciding plays. When Phoenix got close—twice within two points in the fourth—Curry didn't panic. He didn't overthink it. He just answered. That's what separates guys. Booker was brilliant in a vacuum. Curry was brilliant when it mattered.
The rotation gamble paid off
Steve Kerr benched Buddy Hield, ending his streak of 199 consecutive regular season games played. That kind of decision—sitting a professional for spacing purposes when you need defensive intensity—shows Kerr is willing to get uncomfortable to find rhythm. Will Richard's nine points in the second quarter helped too. These Warriors are still figuring out who they are, but at least they're fighting.
Three straight losses is panic territory. You could feel Golden State starting to unravel. This win doesn't fix everything—the Suns still have a better roster on paper—but it proves the Warriors can play defense at the level they need to in order to stay competitive in the West. Sometimes that's enough.