Takeaways from Warriors' Win over Suns: Comeback Led by Unlikely Closing Lineup

Without Stephen Curry (knee), the Golden State Warriors (28-24) rallied late in the fourth quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns (31-21) 101-97 on Thursday at Mortgage Matchup Center.

Pat Spencer had a career-high 20 points, and Gui Santos had a career-high seven assists to go with 18 points.

Dillon Brooks had a game-high 24 points, but the Suns had just one field goal in the last six minutes.

Here are three takeaways from Thursday's game.

Unlikely Closing Lineup Leads Stuning Comeback

Trailing 97-93 with 2:54 to go, the Warriors went without Draymond Green and instead played a lineup with Al Horford, Spencer, Santos, Moses Moody and De'Anthony Melton.

The Suns never scored again.

Brooks tried to take Moody or Melton one-on-one every chance he got, but he got shut down by both.

On the final Suns possession, he took a wild step-back three that wasn't even close, and the Warriors eventually secured the rebound and got Melton a wide-open layup as time expired.

On offense, the Warriors went to Horford in the post repeatedly, and he rewarded them with four points in the final 3:03.

And let's not forgot Santos, whose go-ahead layup with 28.7 to go proved to be the winning basket.

These five players and Gary Payton II recorded 89 of the team's 101 points. They deserve tons of credit for stealing this game.

Spencer Makes Case for Multiyear Contract

In his fifth start of the season, Spencer had a career-high six threes en route to 20 points. He'll never be a high-volume three-point shooter, but the shot looks real, as he's up to 43.1 percent from downtown on the season.

Combine that with his ability to drive, pass and shoot the mid-range jumper, and it's clear he's a good end-of-the-bench option.

With that in mind, the Warriors could give him a multiyear contract and guarantee some of his salary next year.

At this point, why not? He'll be getting his contract converted from a two-way to a standard very soon—likely before Saturday's game against the Lakers because he's ineligible to play another game this season on his two-way deal—and if he'll agree to it, the Warriors should try to keep him for at least the 2026-27 season.

Santos Outplays Brooks in Battle of Strong Wings

Santos and Brooks were matched up on each other several times, and to say the least, Santos did not back down from the challenge.

The final stats say it all: Brooks had 24 points, but he took 24 field-goal attempts to get them. Santos had 18 points on nine field-goal attempts and dished out seven assists to Brooks' one.

At the moment, Brooks is a better player than Santos, but it's not outlandish to think Santos can reach his level one day.

Brooks will likely always have more one-on-one creation ability, but most of the other parts of Brooks' game—namely, physical defense and three-point shooting—are areas Santos can develop.

Keep in mind that Santos is just 23 years old.

Brooks didn't break out until his 24-year-old season when he averaged 16.2 points per game. I'm not saying Santos will go from 4.9 points per game—his average entering Thursday—to 16-plus next season, but a breakout season wouldn't surprise me, especially with all the run he's gonna get down the stretch of this season.