PHOENIX — Pat Spencer scored a career-high 20 points, Gui Santos added 18 and the shorthanded Golden State Warriors erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 101-97 on Thursday night.
The Suns had a chance to pull ahead in the final seconds, but Dillon Brooks missed a 3-pointer and Golden State's Gary Payton II came up with the rebound before Moses Moody fed De'Anthony Melton for a layup as time expired.
Phoenix took an 82-76 lead into the fourth quarter after holding Golden State to 17 points in the third. The Suns pushed the advantage to 90-76 less than two minutes into the fourth after Collin Gillespie hit 3s on back-to-back offensive possessions.
But the Warriors weren't done, methodically cutting into the advantage before Melton made a layup to tie the game at 97-all with 55.8 seconds remaining. Santos made a fast-break layup with 28.7 seconds remaining to put Golden State up 99-97.
Brooks led the Suns with 24 points. Grayson Allen had 21. Phoenix made just six field goals in the fourth quarter, scoring just 15 points.
Allen fed Oso Ighodaro for a dunk that gave the Suns a 97-91 lead with 3:55 left, but they didn't score again. Allen landed awkwardly a few moments later, left the game with a little more than three minutes left and did not return. The Suns said it was a right knee injury.
The Suns were without guards Devin Booker (ankle) and Jalen Green (hamstring/hip). The Warriors didn't have Stephen Curry (knee) or new forward Kristaps Porzingis, who hasn't joined the team after being acquired from the Hawks in a trade.
The Warriors took a 59-55 lead into halftime after attempting 37 3-pointers and making 15. Spencer led Golden State with 15 points before the break on five 3-pointers. Brooks had 15 for the Suns.