Warriors survive Clippers

Golden State extended its season Wednesday night, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 in Inglewood to move on in the Western Conference play-in. (nba.com) Stephen Curry scored 35 points, including 27 after halftime, and his seventh three-pointer broke a tie with 50.4 seconds left. Al Horford added four three-pointers in the final 5:37 as Golden State closed on a 16-6 run. (apnews.com) (nba.com) The Warriors were the No. 10 seed at 37-45 and had to win on the road to avoid elimination. The Clippers, the No. 9 seed at 42-40, were knocked out with the loss. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The National Basketball Association play-in tournament gives teams that finish seventh through 10th in each conference a shot at the final two playoff spots. In the West, that left Phoenix, Portland, the Clippers and the Warriors playing for the seventh and eighth seeds. (nba.com) Phoenix had already lost the West 7-versus-8 game to Portland, so the Suns dropped into one last elimination game for the No. 8 seed. Golden State advanced into that Friday, April 17 matchup in Phoenix after surviving the Clippers. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The winner of Warriors-Suns will claim the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs and face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. local time at Mortgage Matchup Center. (nba.com) (mortgagematchupcenter.com) For Golden State, the comeback kept alive a season that ended eight games under.500 in the regular season. For the Clippers, a home loss in a single-elimination game ended their postseason push immediately. (sports.yahoo.com) (nba.com) Now the Warriors get one more chance, with Curry carrying them into a road game that will decide whether their season ends Friday or reaches the playoffs. (nba.com)