Suns get one more shot
Phoenix earns another elimination game after an earlier play‑in loss, and Friday’s matchup with the Warriors is now the Suns’ final chance to reach the playoffs. (usatoday.com) Ticket marketing and team messaging treat this game as a season‑defining do‑or‑die, so lineup decisions and rest patterns from the last regular‑season games will show up quickly on Friday. (espn.com)
Phoenix gets one more game Friday night, hosting Golden State for the Western Conference’s last playoff spot after both teams survived different ends of the play-in bracket. (nba.com) The Suns finished the regular season 45-37, good for eighth in the West, and the Warriors finished 37-45 in 10th. Friday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Phoenix at Mortgage Matchup Center, with Prime Video carrying the broadcast. (espn.com) (usatoday.com) Phoenix got here by losing 114-110 to Portland on Tuesday in the 7-versus-8 play-in game. Golden State got here by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 on Wednesday in the 9-versus-10 elimination game. (nba.com) (espn.com) That is how the play-in works: the seventh and eighth seeds get two chances, while the ninth and 10th seeds must win twice. Phoenix is using its second chance now; Golden State already spent its first do-or-die game to stay alive. (sports.yahoo.com) (nba.com) The winner on April 17 moves into the 2026 National Basketball Association playoffs as the West’s No. 8 seed. The loser’s season ends that night. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Phoenix will also be the rested team. The Suns last played on April 14, while the Warriors had to finish a comeback win less than 48 hours before tipoff after trailing the Clippers by eight entering the fourth quarter. (nba.com) (espn.com) Lineup questions should sharpen by Thursday evening because the league requires teams to file injury designations by 5 p.m. local time the day before most games. USA Today’s game page listed Grayson Allen with left hamstring soreness for Phoenix and Quinten Post with right foot injury management for Golden State. (official.nba.com) (usatoday.com) The bracket has already shifted once this week. Portland took the No. 7 seed by beating Phoenix, and Golden State extended its season by knocking out the Clippers, turning Friday into the Suns’ last route back into a playoff field that starts Saturday, April 18. (nba.com) (espn.com) (sports.yahoo.com) By late Friday, Phoenix will either have recovered from Tuesday’s miss or be done after two play-in games in four days. Golden State has the narrower margin: one more road win, or the offseason starts. (nba.com) (usatoday.com)
