NBA highlights on Dec. 12: Warriors lose to Suns in experimental game

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Golden State Warriors 119-116 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday, giving their opponents their second straight loss.

Bradley Beal, who joined the Suns in a blockbuster trade this summer, returned after a monthlong absence to pair with Devin Booker when Kevin Durant didn't play because of a left ankle sprain. In his fourth appearance for the team this season, Beal shot 5-for-12 from the field to score 16 points. His performance was hardly satisfactory, but the 10 points he made in the second half were key to the team's comeback in the final two quarters.

Booker continued to shoulder the biggest offensive load for the Suns with 32 points and seven assists despite playing with four personal fouls since early in the third period. Jusuf Nurkic, Chimezie Metu and Jordan Goodwin all provided great support to Booker. Nurkic contributed a double-double of 17 points and 13 assists in addition to seven assists. He also earned 11 free throws and made 10 of them, both the most in Tuesday's game.

Metu took advantage of the opening the Warriors' defense created when they left him to double-team Booker and knocked down three triples. Goodwin played nearly 30 minutes on Tuesday night, much longer than he had averaged (17.1 minutes) this season. His ball distribution was also on point, especially when Booker took a breath on the bench. Goodwin also got 10 points in the third quarter when his side outscored the opponents 35-31.

The Warriors took a hit when Draymond Green was tossed out of the game in the second period. Green tussled with Nurkic in the left elbow area and hit Nurkic with a spinning hook punch. After reviewing the play, the referees ruled it as a Flagrant 2, which led to his ejection.

Green went 1-for-3 in field goals (FGs) to get two points, two rebounds and two assists with three turnovers before the flagrant foul. However, he wasn't the only underperforming starting Warrior in Tuesday's game. Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney combined missed 14 of their 17 shots and had no more than 10 points, nine rebounds and one assists with four turnovers.

The bench unit's surprisingly excellent performance was why the Warriors kept the game alive until the final play. Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Chris Paul, Dario Saric and Moses Moody scored in double digits to get 78 points, 29 rebounds, 17 assists and four steals combined. Paul had a double-double of 15 points and 11 assists with only one turnover. Podziemski contributed 20 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. The other three made highlights on the court as well.

Warriors' head coach, Steve Kerr, has been criticized for being too tolerant of the veterans' poor performance and too harsh on the young players. That's what made his rotation changes on Tuesday night even more significant. Not only did he replace Wiggins and Looney with Kuminga and Podziemski in the starting lineup in the third period, but Kerr also had Stephen Curry lead four rookies, Kuminga, Podziemski, Moody and Trayce Jackson-Davis, in play for several minutes in the fourth quarter.

Though that squad didn't play too well, and the Warriors lost in the end on Tuesday, giving the young blood more prominent roles may become a turning point for the team this season, for better or worse.

Other games on Tuesday (away teams come first):

Cleveland Cavaliers 113-120 Boston Celtics

The Celtics missed all of their first nine 3-pointers at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, but then shot 18-for-35 from downtown, outscoring the Cavaliers 99-82 after the first quarter. In the second period, Jayson Tatum and Derrick White scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, with Kristaps Porzingis adding 13 points in the third quarter. The team also beat their opponents in free throw attempts 26-9, and they didn't miss a single shot.

Los Angeles Lakers 125-127 Dallas Mavericks

As Kyrie Irving is still dealing with a right foot injury, Luka Doncic had to face LeBron James and Anthony Davis by himself at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. As the three biggest stars in Tuesday's game, all of them showed dominance: Doncic had 33 points and 17 assists; James got 33 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and three assists; Davis dropped 37 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.

However, role players also made decisive contributions to the contest, especially from the Mavericks' side. Dante Exum, Grant Williams and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined to drain 17 triples at 65.4 percent. Exum alone scored 17 of the team's 34 points in the fourth period.

Denver Nuggets 114-106 Chicago Bulls

Sacramento Kings 99-119 Los Angeles Clippers