Warriors lose despite Monta Ellis' big night

(12-02) 23:10 PST -- One defining difference between good and great players is the bounce-back factor.

It's starting to look as if Monta Ellis has mastered that attribute.

A game after being held to 12 points on 6-for-16 shooting and no rebounds for the first time this season, Ellis responded with a 38-point, seven-assist effort. That kept the Warriors around in a 107-101 loss to Phoenix on a Thursday night at Oracle Arena in which they shouldn't have been competitive.

The Warriors were fortunate to even be in the game, considering Phoenix had a better shooting percentage, more rebounds and a more productive transition game. The Suns never trailed after Jason Richardson made a three-pointer with 7 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter, but Ellis willed the Warriors back to tie it twice.

Ellis played all 48 minutes for the second time in the past three games. "I didn't go into it thinking Monta could play 48, but I had nothing else to hang my hat on," coach Keith Smart said.

Ellis had a chance to cut it to 95-94 with 3:16 remaining, but he missed two free throws. Steve Nash made a pair at the other end, and the Warriors never got closer than five points again.

"Those two free throws that I missed were the turning point," Ellis said.

"That play, itself, didn't lose the game," Stephen Curry said. "For him to do what he did the whole game, he can't put those free throws all on himself. He kept us in it."

San Antonio had made life difficult for Ellis on Tuesday, consistently running two or three guys at him. It wouldn't have mattered if the Suns tried to defend him with their entire roster.

He was in that zone, where he can get into the paint at will or make a midrange jumper just to show he can bury it. Ellis had 13 points in the third quarter, when the Warriors completed their erasure of a 12-point deficit.

Ellis converted a three-point play that started with a pretty finger roll, grabbed the rebound at the other end, and then found Andris Biedrins for a layup that made it 66-66 with 4:34 left in the third quarter.

David Lee had 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists on a night when there wasn't much other help for Ellis. Biedrins was limited to four points and three rebounds in 23 minutes because of an upset stomach, and Curry, who was scratched in the left eye, was held to single-figure scoring for the second time this season.

Phoenix was led by Richardson, who had 25 points. Grant Hill added 24 points, and Nash had 13 points and 16 assists.

The Warriors (8-11) have lost seven of their past eight games and are two games into a daunting seven-game stretch. The Suns (9-9) are back to .500 for the eighth time this season.

Phoenix has won seven of the past eight games in what is usually a highly entertaining series. The Suns beat the Warriors 133-131 on March 22, and they scored 154, including an NBA record 54 fastbreak points, a year and a week earlier.

Ellis had 11 second-quarter points and the Warriors forced seven turnovers in the frame as they trimmed an 11-point deficit to two points. Lee scored off an offensive rebound, Biedrins stole the ball from Earl Barron at the other end, and Ellis' finger roll made it 46-44 with 1:41 remaining.

E-mail Rusty Simmons at rsimmons@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle