Suns' Impressive Defense Fuels Them to Last-Second Win Over Warriors

The Suns came back from down 14 in the third quarter to defeat Golden State.

Dec 18, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

PHOENIX -- Jordan Goodwin made a game-winning free throw with under a second left, and the Phoenix Suns (15-12) snapped a two-game losing streak with an electric 99-98 victory over the Golden State Warriors (13-15) Thursday night at Mortgage Matchup Center.

The Suns had one of their best defensive performances of the season with 16 steals and held Golden State to 35-of-90 (38.9%) shooting from the floor and 12-of-42 (28.6%) shooting from 3.

Jordan Goodwin misses the first free throw then hits the second with 0.4 seconds left to give the Suns a 99-98 win over the Warriors pic.twitter.com/jOMQvSkVA3

— Brendan Mau (@brendan_mau) December 19, 2025

The Warriors led the majority of the game until the Suns came storming back from down as many as 14 to regain the lead in the fourth and closed it out strong, but not without drama.

Devin Booker really struggled with only two first-half points before pouring in 23 points in the second half to lead Phoenix to the win.

Dillon Brooks kept Phoenix in it early in the game, scoring 20 of his 24 points in the first half.

Collin Gilllespie remained clutch for the Suns with nine of his 16 points coming in the fourth quarter.

The Suns won the points off turnovers 30-18 and fast break points 22-6.

Jimmy Butler had a game-high 31 points for the Warriors, while Brandin Podziemski added 18 off the bench. Stephen Curry, who was coming off a 48-point performance, only notched 15 points on 3-of-13 shooting as the Warriors lost their third-straight game.

Here's a look at how all the drama unfolded:

First Quarter

The Suns generated three early steals, but the Warriors led 11-9 at the first media timeout with just over eight minutes left in the opening quarter.

Brooks was on fire in the first quarter with 13 of Phoenix's first 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Dillon Brooks in the first 6 MINS tonight:

☄️ 13 PTS
☄️ 3-4 3PT pic.twitter.com/PM0yEbyvsV

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 19, 2025

Both teams went back and forth the rest of the period with the Warriors take a 29-26 into the second behind 11 points from Butler.

Brooks and Booker, who was scoreless in the quarter, were both in early foul trouble with two fouls apiece.

Second Quarter

Even with Brooks and Booker on the bench for an extended time to start the second, the Suns did not allow the Warriors to pull further ahead early in the period.

Brooks, who was ejected in Sunday's loss to the Lakers, picked up his ninth technical foul of the season with 5:28 to go in the first half for taunting after a layup that cut Golden State's lead to 40-37.

Booker finally got on the scoreboard for his first points of the game with a layup that trimmed the Warriors' edge to 48-43 with 2:30 left. These were his only points of the half.

At halftime, Golden State was up 53-46 with Butler leading the way with 16 points despite Curry only scoring five points.

Brooks had a game-high 20 points for the Suns.

Third Quarter

The Warriors went on a 7-0 run to begin the second half, but the Suns then responded with a 13-2 run of their own to cut the deficit to two with 7:26 remaining in the quarter.

Booker finally got rolling in the third with 13 points in the period and tied the game at 66 with a 3-pointer with 5:46 to go.

The Suns were never able to take the lead the rest of the third, and the Warriors led 71-70 heading into the fourth quarter.

Butler was up to 22 points for Golden State, matching Brooks' 22 for the Suns.

Phoenix held the Warriors to 1-of-11 3-point shooting in the third.

Fourth Quarter

The Suns took their first lead since the first quarter on the first possession of the fourth on a layup by Gillespie, who then converted an and-one layup the next trip down to put Phoenix up 75-71 with 11:21 to go.

Gillespie went down in a lot of pain and went back to the locker room after taking knee-to-knee contact on a layup attempt by Jonathan Kuminga with 10:26 left.

However, less than two minutes later, he came back into the game, which ignited even more life into the Suns.

Phoenix started the fourth on a 14-5 run even with Booker and Brooks on the bench to go ahead 84-76 with over seven minutes to play.

The Warriors answered back with a 6-0 run to make it 84-82 Suns with 5:15 left on the clock.

Golden State ended up retaking the lead with 4:07 to go after a 3-pointer by Podziemski.

This lead did not last long with the Suns then scoring eight unanswered points as a floater by Brooks put them up 94-87 with 2:28 remaining.

The Warriors quickly trimmed this deficit to three after a fastbreak dunk by Butler, which Booker responded to with a mid-range jumper that put the Suns ahead 96-91 with 1:30.

Brooks was assessed a flagrant foul after hitting Curry in the stomach area on a 3-point attempt, which gave the Warriors two free throws and the ball with 38.3 seconds to go with the score still the same.

Curry made both free throws, then Butler swished home a 3-pointer with 35.5 seconds to tie the game back up at 96.

Booker responded right away with a jumper to put Phoenix back up, then Curry was fouled on a drive to the hoop and made both free throws to make it tied at 98 with 21.7 seconds left.

CLUTCH BOOK BUCKET!

This game is tied at 98 with 21.7 seconds remaining. pic.twitter.com/WTHy2VrF2p

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 19, 2025

The Suns held the ball on the final possession until Brooks attempted an awkward 3-pointer with two seconds left, and Goodwin was fouled on the rebound.

After review, 0.4 seconds were put on the clock, and Goodwin missed the first free throw, but cashed the second to give the Suns the win.

Next Up

The Suns will take on the Warriors again in Golden State on Saturday.