Chambers and Suns Put Heat on Warriors : Golden State Loses by 9 at Home to Fall Behind in West Semifinals, 2-1

The teams with the Comeback Kids went at each other Thursday night, doing what they do best.

Phoenix, which made the third-best improvement from one season to the next in National Basketball Assn. history, grabbed what appeared to be a commanding lead in the first quarter, and Golden State came back.

The Warriors, who made the fourth-best turnaround ever, took the lead near the end of the third quarter, but the Suns came back and that was that.

Now, Golden State will have to come back in Game 4 Saturday just to tie the best-of-seven series.

Tom Chambers, who returned to form after what he called a disappointing effort Tuesday night, made sure of that, scoring 12 of his team-high 31 points in the fourth quarter to lead Phoenix to a 113-104 victory at the Oakland Coliseum Arena and give the Suns a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Phoenix won despite shooting only 39%, and Chambers, at 14 of 28, was one of the few Suns who made at least half of his attempts. Chambers and teammate Tyrone Corbin each had 14 rebounds to give Phoenix the edge on the boards, 74-57, including a 25-9 margin on the offensive end.

“I didn’t get the ball very much in the third quarter, maybe two or three times,” said Chambers, who made six of seven shots in the final 12 minutes. “In the fourth quarter, I wanted to be the guy we went to. I wanted it and I wanted to shoot it because I knew it would go in.

“I thought the lead we got early in the game was the key. We wanted to be aggressive, just like in Game 1, and like they were in Game 2. That’s so much of it. I wanted to make sure I did that tonight because I wanted to play good after Game 2. I didn’t come out motivated that time and I wanted to make sure I did that tonight.”

In Game 2, Chambers made 8 of 18 shots and finished with 20 points and five rebounds.

But Thursday night, it didn’t take long to see the difference in Chambers, who had nine points and nine rebounds in the first quarter.

He didn’t do it alone. The Suns held the Warriors scoreless for the first 2:22 of the game. Golden State missed eight of its first 10 shots as Phoenix raced to a 19-7 lead. The Suns’ advantage was 35-20 at the end of the opening quarter, with Chris Mullin scoring 11 of Golden State’s points. Mullin finished with 32 to lead all scorers.

The Warriors made a brief run to begin the second period, getting field goals on each of their four trips downcourt, including a Steve Alford three-point basket from the left corner. That, followed by a pair of free throws by Terry Teagle, helped get the crowd back in the game and Golden State to pull within eight points, 39-31. But then the Suns extended their lead to 47-33, barely more than two minutes later.

Phoenix, which averaged 123.6 points in its first five playoff games, had 59 by halftime, good for a nine-point cushion. Golden State needed a 15-4 run in the final 3:15 to get that close.

“We shot only 37% in the first half and were up by nine, so I knew we were doing some things right,” Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons said.

Actually, the Suns connected on 37.5% of their attempts in the first two quarters, but Kevin Johnson (three of nine) and Chambers (five of 15) scored 13 points each. Mark West added 12 on six-of-seven shooting, and Corbin had 11 rebounds--seven more than any Warrior at intermission.

Mullin, coming off his 37-point performance in Game 2, scored 13 points in the first half. But he opened the third quarter by making five consecutive baskets, carrying Golden State back within three, 73-70. That was the smallest Sun lead since 2-0.

Mullin’s layup with 4:34 to play in the third quarter, after Eddie Johnson made one free throw for the Suns, made it a two-point game, 74-72. Fifty-five seconds later, Winston Garland nailed a straightaway jumper from just inside the three-point line that cut the Phoenix lead to 77-76.

The Suns appeared to be fading fast. They held the lead for all of 74 seconds more, until Otis Smith’s layin with 2:15 remaining gave Golden State its first lead of the game, 80-79. The Warriors were also up, 82-81.

Then, Phoenix, its shooting accuracy having plummeted all the way to 35.4% by the end of the third quarter, answered with the final surge of the night. In a streak that began late in the third period, the Suns outscored the Warriors, 15-4.

That improved Phoenix’s cushion to 96-86.

“When you play 48 minutes, you’re going to have a lot of runs,” said Kevin Johnson, who made only four of 17 shots but had nine rebounds and 15 assists. “Fortunately for us, we had the last run.”

Golden State fought back within five points, 109-104, on Garland’s three-point basket, but the Warriors could get no closer. There were no more comebacks left, at least on this night.