Warriors survive Clippers

Golden State kept its season alive Wednesday night, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 in the Western Conference play-in at Intuit Dome. (nba.com) Stephen Curry scored 35 points, including 27 in the second half, and his seventh 3-pointer broke a tie with 50.4 seconds left. Golden State closed on a 16-6 run after trailing 98-85 with 9:53 remaining. (nba.com) (apnews.com) Al Horford added 14 points and hit four 3-pointers, while Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 and Gui Santos had 20. Draymond Green finished with nine assists and four steals for the No. 10 Warriors. (nba.com) For the Clippers, Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 points, Darius Garland had 21 points and eight assists, and Kawhi Leonard finished with 21 points. Leonard did not score in the fourth quarter until the final 16 seconds, as Golden State’s defense tightened late. (nba.com) (apnews.com) The play-in tournament gives teams that finish seventh through 10th in each conference a shot at the last two playoff seeds. In the 9-versus-10 game, the loser is eliminated and the winner advances to face the loser of the 7-versus-8 game for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) That is why Wednesday ended the Clippers’ season but not the Warriors’. Los Angeles finished the regular season 42-40 as the West’s No. 9 team, while Golden State entered at 37-45 as No. 10. (nba.com) Phoenix is next for Golden State on Friday, April 17, at 10 p.m. Eastern time, with the winner claiming the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed. Portland already took the No. 7 seed by beating Phoenix 114-110 on Tuesday. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) If the Warriors win again, they will open the first round against Oklahoma City, the West’s top seed. If they lose in Phoenix, their season ends two days after it looked over in Inglewood. (nba.com)