Warriors survive Clippers

Golden State is still alive after a 126-121 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, April 15, sending the Warriors on to one more play-in game. (apnews.com) Stephen Curry scored 35 points, including 27 in the second half, and Golden State closed on a 16-4 run over the final 3:23 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood. The Clippers led 98-85 with 9:53 left before the Warriors’ comeback. (apnews.com) Golden State got 20 points from Kristaps Porzingis, 20 from Gui Santos, 17 from Brandin Podziemski and 14 from Al Horford, who made four three-pointers off the bench. The Warriors shot 19 for 41 from three-point range, while Los Angeles went 14 for 35. (nba.com) Los Angeles got 23 points from Bennedict Mathurin and 21 each from Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland, but the loss ended the Clippers’ season. The team finished 42-40 in the regular season and could not hold a 61-53 halftime lead. (nba.com) The play-in is a four-team bracket for each conference’s last two playoff spots. Teams that finish seventh through 10th play for the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds after the regular season ends. (nba.com) That format is why Golden State still needs another win. The Warriors were in the ninth-versus-10th game, so beating the Clippers only moved them into the final West play-in on Friday, April 17, against Phoenix for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com, nba.com) The fourth quarter explained the night. Golden State scored 43 points in the period after scoring 22 in the first, and Curry’s late shotmaking flipped a game the Clippers had controlled for most of the evening. (espn.com, apnews.com) The Warriors entered the game with a 37-45 record and had lost three straight to end the regular season. On Wednesday, they extended their season by at least 48 hours and pushed Curry into another elimination game on April 17. (espn.com, nba.com)