Klay tossed; emphasized Dubs' 4 rings to Booker

PHOENIX -- Warriors defender Klay Thompson was ejected for the archetypal clip successful his vocation aft picking up 2 consecutive method fouls during a chippy 3rd 4th successful Golden State's 134-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns connected Tuesday night.

It was the five-time All-Star's archetypal vocation ejection successful 759 regular-season and playoff games.

Thompson had been verbally sparring with Phoenix's Devin Booker for respective minutes done the 3rd 4th -- repeating implicit and implicit again that helium had 4 rings, according to Booker. With 6½ minutes near successful the quarter, the 2 continued to speech words and past bumped chests, resulting successful treble technicals connected some players.

"There was chirping connected some ends, I cognize that," Warriors guardant Draymond Green said. "I deliberation [the Suns] were precise emotional."

As Thompson started to locomotion away, Mikal Bridges walked into him. Thompson shoved Bridges distant and soon aft was issued his 2nd method foul, starring to his ejection. Thompson had to beryllium held backmost by teammate Stephen Curry and Warriors adjunct manager Chris DeMarco.

"After helium got thrown out, helium had a batch much to say, which I love," Curry said. "The backmost and distant is simply a portion of [the game], and I similar that he's engaged successful that respect due to the fact that it matters to him."

A full of 7 method fouls were assessed successful the 3rd 4th betwixt the 2 teams, each successful little than six minutes. Green and Warriors manager Steve Kerr, on with Phoenix players Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton besides were whistled for technicals for assorted outbursts, with astir of that ire directed astatine the officials. Those 7 technicals tied the astir successful a azygous 4th implicit the past 25 seasons, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.

"I deliberation some teams privation it. I don't deliberation it's idiosyncratic astatine all. I deliberation we conscionable respect them. They're the champions," Phoenix manager Monty Williams said. "So, they're going to get our champion due to the fact that they are the best. So, I deliberation a batch of the emotion is conscionable astir being competitive. We don't instrumentality it personally astatine all, we conscionable recognize amended that erstwhile each that worldly happens, we got to get backmost connected focusing being competitory and trying to triumph the game."

As Thompson near the court, helium continued to outcry astatine the Suns' bench, waving astatine them portion pointing to his hand, reiterating the aforesaid connection helium was chirping successful Booker's ear.

"We're conscionable 2 competitors," Booker said. "I emotion Klay Thompson. I person for a truly agelong time. But it's not going to excuse from america being competitory and talking to each other. I've ever admired his game, however helium plays connected some ends of the ball. And obviously, the rings talk for themselves."

Describing the trash speech betwixt the two, Booker summarized: "They person 4 rings, repeated implicit and over, and they do, and they did."

Thompson didn't talk with the media pursuing the game.

With Booker arsenic the superior defender, Thompson changeable 0-for-4, including 0-for-3 from 3, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. He finished the nighttime with conscionable 2 points connected 1-of-8 shooting successful 19 minutes.

Meanwhile, Booker led each scorers with 34 points connected 10-of-19 shooting, including 3 3-pointers. He besides made 11 of 14 escaped throws. Booker has scored 130 points done his archetypal 4 games -- the astir done 4 games of a play successful Suns history.

"He and Book person gotten into it a small spot implicit the years, they're conscionable competitors, some large players -- I retrieve 4 oregon 5 years agone erstwhile Book was archetypal coming up, Klay was successful his prime, helium went astatine it 1 nighttime successful Oracle and aforesaid benignant of happening happened," Kerr said. "There were nary ejections, but they're some competitive, they're guarding each other, and this is the NBA. Highest contention successful the world, worldly similar that happens."

Kerr said Thompson has been frustrated playing nether his existent minutes regularisation arsenic helium returns to his afloat conditioning. At shootaround earlier successful the day, Thompson said helium wasn't expecting to request to workout the aforesaid benignant of patience arsenic helium did erstwhile helium returned from a two-year hiatus past season.

"Klay cares truthful overmuch astir his ain interaction connected the team," Kerr said. "He wants it truthful severely and he's trying to unit it close now. He's trying excessively hard. But he's done that galore times, adjacent earlier the injuries. So I'll punctual him: There are 78 games to go."

In the midst of the chaos successful the third, the Suns were playing well, and their pb grew to 19 points by quarter's end. Without Thompson, the defending NBA champs were ne'er capable to equine a rally, and the Suns kept a comfy pb the remainder of the way.

"We've got to retrieve that [as] defending champs, there's a antithetic glow erstwhile you locomotion in," Curry said. "Teams are trying to travel astatine you, particularly connected the road, get their assemblage into it. Their emotions are moving precocious and they fed disconnected of it. ... They had a spot of an borderline aft that infinitesimal that they capitalized on."

In the moments pursuing Thompson's ejection, the Suns outscored the Warriors 22-9. But Kerr said helium doesn't judge that's erstwhile the crippled was lost. Instead, it was astatine the escaped propulsion line, wherever Phoenix attempted 34 (and made 28) to Golden State's 17 attempts (with 13 makes).

"We mislaid our way," Kerr said. "We've got a batch of enactment to do. We're not a finished product, by immoderate means. ... We're obscurity adjacent to wherever we request to beryllium close now. We're a precise mediocre antiaircraft team, and that doesn't triumph successful this league."

The Warriors' antiaircraft woes commencement with their modulation defense, Kerr said. As they got that contented cleaned up, they began fouling, which Kerr attributed to them being precocious connected rotations. The Warriors allowed the Suns to people 72 points successful the archetypal fractional -- the 3rd crippled they've fixed up astatine slightest 70 points successful a fractional this season.

"The committedness to defence isn't there," Green said. "That's thing we person to beryllium amended at, and it starts with me. And I'll marque definite we get there. But close now, we are a decent violative squad and a atrocious antiaircraft team. I don't expect that to beryllium the case. It's thing we tin change, we've conscionable got to perpetrate to it."

Information from The Associated Press was included successful this report.