Turnover-happy Warriors fall in Phoenix 104-96

It was perhaps the most heavily anticipated matchup of the young NBA season on Tuesday night, pitting the league’s two best records — the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns — against each other. The game lived up to the hype, but the Dubs fell apart late, losing 104-96 for just their third loss of the year.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that the Warriors next game is on Friday, against the same Suns team, only this time they’ll get to be at home. Vengeance is readily available.

And, assuming the Suns beat the lowly Detroit Pistons on Thursday, the Warriors will get a second chance at ending Phoenix’s epic winning streak, which currently sits at 17 games.

Neither team got much from their leading scorer on Tuesday. For the Warriors, Steph Curry had his worst offensive performance of the year, netting just 12 points on an awful 4-for-21 shooting, which featured more than one air ball. And for the Suns, Devin Booker played just 15 minutes before leaving the game with a hamstring injury. Hopefully he’ll be back on the court for Friday’s contest.

Jordan Poole was the brightest spot for the Warriors, dropping in 28 points on a hyper-efficient 9-for-15 shooting. He had 16 points in the first quarter, including an 11-0 run all by himself, and was the main reason the Dubs had a nine-point lead early in the second quarter.

But things got ugly after that. The Dubs had just 42 second-half points (and just 61 after a 35-point first quarter), and seemed to get sloppier with every passing possession, finishing with 23 turnovers — that’s a number that will keep Steve Kerr up all night.

With the matchup between elite teams in the books, Phoenix and Golden State are now tied atop the standings with identical 18-3 records.

Tune into the post-game show with Marc Delucchi.