Warriors survive Clippers
The Golden State Warriors kept their season alive by beating the Los Angeles Clippers in a win‑or‑go‑home play‑in game on Wednesday, with Stephen Curry delivering the key shots down the stretch. (nytimes.com) The victory sends Golden State to face the Phoenix Suns on Friday for the Western Conference’s final playoff berth, and highlights from the game underscore late‑clock creation and transition defense as decisive factors. ( )
Golden State stayed alive Wednesday night by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 in the Western Conference play-in and erasing a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit. (nba.com) Stephen Curry scored 35 points, including 27 after halftime, and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 50.4 seconds left at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. (espn.com) The Warriors closed on a 16-6 run after trailing 98-85 with 9:53 remaining. Al Horford added four 3-pointers in the comeback, including one that put Golden State ahead 117-115 with 2:12 left. (espn.com) That result kept the No. 10 seed alive for one more game in the National Basketball Association’s play-in format, where the No. 9 and No. 10 teams face immediate elimination. Golden State now plays at Phoenix on Friday, April 17, for the Western Conference’s No. 8 playoff spot. (nba.com) The winner of Warriors-Suns will open the first round against Oklahoma City on Sunday, April 19. The play-in round runs from April 14 through April 17, with the full playoffs starting April 18. (nba.com) Golden State reached this point after a 37-45 regular season and after losing Jimmy Butler for the season in January. Curry had returned only five games earlier from a 27-game absence caused by a knee injury. (espn.com) The Clippers finished 42-40 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022. Bennedict Mathurin led Los Angeles with 23 points, while Kawhi Leonard scored 21 but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter until the final 16 seconds. (nba.com) Curry also changed the game in the third quarter, when he scored 16 points in a six-minute stretch after managing eight points on 2-for-9 shooting in the first half. By the final minute, Golden State had turned a season-ending hole into a trip to Phoenix. (espn.com)
