Steve Kerr says Suns late-game costly foul “hard to believe”.

The The Golden State Warriors did not play a perfect gameeither way, in their narrow 99-98 loss to the Phoenix Suns. But that didn’t make it any easier to swallow a contested foul in the final seconds of the game that helped Phoenix secure the win.

In the final possession of regulation, with the score tied 98-98, Moses Moody fouled Suns guard Jordan Goodwin on a jump shot after Dillon Brooks missed with 0.4 seconds left. With the Suns in the bonus, a foul on Moody sent Goodwin to the line, where he split the free throws.

after the game Steve Kerr he expressed his disappointment about a decision on a foul in the game.

“It’s hard to believe the game was decided on that call,” Kerr said.

“On an air ball that hits the side of the backboard. (The guys behind the bench told me Moses got all the ball. They all got tangled up. To me, it better be a foul to decide the game on a play like that. So, disappointing that we didn’t make it to overtime because I thought our guys executed and did a great job in the last few minutes.”

Trailing by five with 41.2 seconds left, the Warriors got a spark of life thanks to a flagrant foul by Brooks after the Suns wing brought Stephen Curry down the middle on a missed 3-pointer. That gave the Dubs two free throws and the ball, which Butler capitalized on by draining a 3-pointer down the stretch.

Butler finished with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting and 8-of-9 from the free throw line, a solid performance for the veteran star after The Warriors emphasized that they need more of his scoring ability.

Turnovers, missed shots, dry

However, the game-deciding error was simply the last straw as the Warriors lost their third game in a row. As has been the story of their season so far, turnovers and missed shots have been what got them there.

The Warriors committed 20 turnovers for the fifth time this season. Phoenix turned those 20 turnovers into 30 points, which lifted the Dubs’ spirits.

“We pretty much turned it around,” Kerr said. “I thought we let our shoulders drop a little bit. The energy, the spirit, let’s let ourselves feel sorry for ourselves when they ran. … We just have to be sharper with the ball. We have to be better with body language and energy.”

Along with the turnovers came a ton of missed shots on a ton of open looks. Golden State shot 12 of 42 from beyond the arc, with all the Warriors except Butler struggling on offense. Curry finished with just 15 points on 3-of-13 shooting. Moody went 1-of-6 from distance. Quinten Post, a high volume 2-of-10 from deep.

“We’re looking good. Sometimes the ball doesn’t go in, and that happens … Tough shooting night, but you can still win those games,” Kerr said, pointing to a lull in execution and too many turnovers.

But eventually, the Warriors will have to start knocking down makeable jumpers.

Entering the game, they ranked fifth in the league in shooting quality, which is a puzzling positive considering they are 20th in offensive rating. But that stark juxtaposition between those two stats was on full display in this loss, illustrated by how they went 4-of-13 from the corner. They generated 13 shots in one of the most efficient locations on the floor and shot less than 25% from that area.

Urgency is creeping up on the Warriors

The loss will drop the Warriors to 13-15 on the season, two games under .500, and 6-9 in their last 15 games. There are no moral victories in a loss like this, and the Warriors know it.

After the game, at the podium, Draymond Green darkly scanned the stat sheet, pointing to the stats that stood out to him – 20 turnovers, 30 turnovers, 39.3% shooting, 28.8% 3-point shooting. Golden State understands the mistakes they make, the problems that plague them in losses. But how they resolve those issues remains their white whale.

The The Warriors tried to mess up the rotationwhich created more questions than answers. They tried to need more energy, a better mood, which come and go with victories and defeats. And right now they are losing.

That’s because of their grueling schedule – Golden State has played 17 of 41 games on the road in just 28 games this season. There’s even an argument that could be made about other teams playing above their ceiling against the Warriors. But that’s life in the NBA, and Curry understands that.

“If you want to be a good team, you’re able to overcome that,” Curry said after the loss. “Obviously we’re not a good team right now because of what our record says and the fact that we’re in the positions we’re in.”

The Warriors are currently at their lowest point, and it’s up to them to turn it around.

“I like that it challenges us and gives us a sense of urgency,” Curry continued. “But if we’re going to do anything relevant this year, feeling this pain and doing a little searching might be a good thing. If we do something about it. That’s the moment we’re in right now.”