Curry matchup wanted
Suns forward Dillon Brooks said he wanted to face the Golden State Warriors in the play‑in, explicitly calling out the matchup with Stephen Curry as something he welcomes. (nytimes.com). Opening lines made Phoenix a slight favorite in the matchup according to early betting odds. (si.com)
Dillon Brooks said he wanted the Warriors in Friday’s play-in game, and he named Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr when asked why. (nbcbayarea.com) Brooks made the comments Thursday, one day after Golden State beat the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 to stay alive and set up an elimination game in Phoenix on April 17. (nbcbayarea.com; usatoday.com) Phoenix opened as a slight betting favorite despite Golden State winning three of the four regular-season meetings. Sports Illustrated Betting listed the Suns at -2.5 and -142 on the moneyline, with the Warriors at +120. (si.com) The game carries the West’s last playoff berth. The winner advances as the No. 8 seed to face top-seeded Oklahoma City in the first round, while the loser is done. (nba.com; deadspin.com) Phoenix got here the hard way. The Suns lost their first play-in game to Portland after leading by 11 points with less than seven minutes left, putting a No. 7 seed one loss from missing the bracket entirely. (deadspin.com) Golden State arrived from the other side of the bracket. The Warriors finished 10th in the West, trailed by 13 in the fourth quarter against the Clippers, then rallied behind Curry’s 35 points to extend their season. (si.com; deadspin.com) Brooks’ callout lands because his history with Golden State goes back years. In the 2022 Western Conference semifinals, he was suspended after a flagrant foul on Gary Payton II, and Kerr called the play “dirty” at the time. (nbcbayarea.com) The rivalry followed Brooks to Phoenix after the Suns acquired him from Houston in the June 2025 Kevin Durant trade. NBC Bay Area reported Brooks averaged a career-high 20.2 points per game in his first season with the Suns. (nbcbayarea.com) Brooks also framed the matchup as a test against Curry rather than a grudge match. He called Curry “one of the best players ever to do it” and said, “Who else do you want to go against in an elimination game?” (nbcbayarea.com; deadspin.com) By Friday night, the talk turns into one game in Phoenix: Brooks gets the Curry matchup he asked for, and one season ends with it. (usatoday.com; nba.com)
