PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns are now 1-4 to start the year for the second straight season after their 116-113 loss to the Golden State Warriors Monday night in San Francisco.

In what was a physical game that featured an ejection and three technical fouls, the Suns faltered down the stretch and Stephen Curry's 34 points ended up propelling Golden State to the victory.

Here were three of the biggest takeaways for the Suns from their third consecutive loss:

Suns Still Can't Put Full 48 Minutes Together

Phoenix got off to its best start of the season, going up by double digits early and leading by as many as 17 points in the second quarter.

However, as has been the case all season long, the Suns could not sustain that momentum the rest of the game particularly down the stretch, as they shot 1-for-7 from 3 and had seven turnovers in the fourth quarter.

"I think the first quarter, early second quarter, we seen some things that worked and then right before halftime, (we) lost it. And then fourth quarter, lost it," Suns star Devin Booker (26 points, five assists) said postgame (via The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin).

"We have some spots. We've been saying it the past few games, we just have to put 48 minutes together."

Frontcourt Struggles Continue

The Warriors, who are one of the smaller teams in the league, are known for playing with pace and shooting 3-pointers, led by Curry.

However, it was the Warriors' interior players who played a big role in Golden State's comeback after Draymond Green got ejected in the third quarter.

Warriors backup center Charles Bassey set a new career high of 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and Golden State as a team outrebounded Phoenix 44-37 in the game.

Suns centers Khaman Maluach and Oso Ighodaro combined for just four rebounds, but the Suns did get some help from Jalen Green (eight rebounds), Dillon Brooks (eight rebounds) and Miles Bridges (six rebounds) on the boards, which is something they can build on.

Phoenix has to find the right balance with its center rotation while Mark Williams remains sidelined, and Ighodaro might need to replace Maluach in the starting lineup soon.

Offensive Inconsistency Remains an Issue

The Suns once again showed there is still plenty of work to do for the team's pieces to fit together with everyone trying to adjust to new roles.

Miles Bridges (21 points, six rebounds) continued his strong play, but there were too many times the offense looked out of rhythm with Bridges, Booker (team-worst minus-18), Green (11 points, 5-14 FG, eight assists, eight rebounds, four turnovers) and Brooks (18 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four turnovers) on the floor together, especially in the half court.

The offense looks fine when the Suns are getting stops and running, but there are too many possessions when they get stagnant and settle for an awkward-looking shot.

The key for the Suns has always been their defense turning into good offense, and they have shown some flashes when that happens as they did in the first half against the Warriors, but they need to find a way to generate good looks when that is not the case, especially late in games.

Phoenix next kicks off a seven-game homestand with a big matchup Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, who blew out the Suns in the season opener.