If only for one night, Warriors display championship mettle in win vs. Clippers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Steve Kerr knew how he sounded as his words came out. 

The same Steve Kerr that was a five-time champion as a lightly recruited high school player who carved out a 15-year NBA career as the No. 50 overall pick in the draft. The same Steve Kerr who became a four-time champion head coach with no past coaching experience. The same Steve Kerr who played with a long list of all-time greats and now has led countless others as a coach. 

This isn’t what Kerr and the Warriors play for. Not the NBA play-in tournament or being a No. 10 seed. Perfectly so, none of that mattered. Sports erase thought in moments of greatness, taken aback by the supreme. 

“For one night, we’re us,” Kerr said. “We’re champions again. I know that may sound crazy to everybody out there. It’s a play-in game – I don’t care. Just absolutely beautiful to watch.”

A winner by nature and a fan of the game at heart, Kerr meant every word after the Warriors’ 126-121 comeback win Wednesday night against the No. 9 seed LA Clippers on the road at Intuit Dome. Win or go home. The Warriors are packed and going to Phoenix.

Steph Curry and Draymond Green have been Warriors basketball to a generation of fans. Another cast member is gone but not forgotten. They grew up on them. Kerr wasn’t their first coach, but he was the first to celebrate championships with them. 

They’re still here, too. 

With 9.5 seconds left in the game in hand as Brandin Podziemski shot free throws, Curry and Green turned to each other and hugged out their own ‘thank you’ cards to one another. 

Curry appreciated every game Green trudged through without him during his 27-game absence to runner’s knee. Green appreciated Curry’s care and commitment to returning for a losing team in a season he could have done without. Of course the game came down to them in the end. 

The score was tied at 117 apiece and about a minute and a half remaining in fourth quarter when Curry came off a screen from Green and let a three fly from the left wing. He missed. Nobody remembers. 

After stopping the Clippers on one side, Curry and Green spoke in their secret language and played a two-man game the ended with Steph catching a handoff from Draymond and used his screen to take two dribbles to the left past 7-footer Brook Lopez, get space and send a rocket to the moon that landed safely through the net and back to its home.

The shot gave the Warriors a 120-117 lead with 50.4 seconds left. Nobody was surprised. 

“Well, I’m taught to crash right there,” Green said to NBC Sports Bay Area. “But of course I’ve seen it too many times. It’s going in. I knew it. It’s what he do.” 

It’s what Curry came back to do. To show the world he can still perform magic, scoring 35 points in 36 minutes at 38 years old with a bad knee and having defense played on him like holding, grabbing and tugging is rewarded instead of whistled. He also wanted to show himself there’s still tricks up his sleeve. 

Curry looked more like a 38-year-old with a bad knee at the start of the single elimination game than someone who surely would have been an All-NBA selection if he stayed healthy. The evidence was in watching him have trouble getting past a long and athlete Derrick Jones Jr., and in the box score, scoring eight points on 2-of-9 shooting and the Warriors down by eight at halftime. 

The wait is always worth it for a signature Curry Flurry. Once it began, the Clippers couldn’t stop the destruction. Curry scored 27 points in the second half – 16 in the third quarter and 11 in the fourth – and his coach had a few things to say about his superstar player, pounding the podium table in the middle of his message.

“This is why Steph came back,” Kerr said. “So everybody out there who thought Steph should have taken the rest of the year off, this is what he does. This is who he is. If he can compete, he’s going to compete. And it was just incredible to watch.” 

As was Green’s defense against Kawhi Leonard down the stretch. Leonard averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game this season and exhaustingly got to 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting but only 1 of 6 on threes with Green in his grill. Green had a game-high four steals, and Leonard had a game-high five turnovers.

Three of Draymond’s four steals came from Kawhi, including the game-sealer. First, he picked him up full court. Then, Green got in front of Leonard and was able to shift his hips in position at the right wing beyond the arc. Right as Leonard went to dribble between his legs, Green called check mate, swiping the ball away and diving on it before giving it up to Podziemski. 

The play before, Green dug into his football days and got in position like a defensive back to tip away an inbounds pass to Podziemski, who completed a three-point play. 

“He feeds off those battles,” Curry said of his longest tenured teammate defending greats like Leonard. “Those matchups get him going. It’s our job to have his back. But the way he played tonight, and just the level of impact he had was incredible. I’m falling short on the words to describe it. It was unbelievable. 

These are the Warriors, and this is what they do. This wasn’t just the Warriors of old, though. It also was about the Warriors of new, including their elder statesman. 

Al Hoford, who turns 40 years old in June and recently returned from a calf strain, missed his first three shots. His only make going into the fourth quarter was a diving dunk.

Just like that, Horford showed why this part of the calendar is why the Warriors signed him. From the 5:37 mark to the 2:12 mark of the fourth quarter, Horford was Curry. He couldn’t miss, going 4 of 4 from 3-point range, with the last one giving the Warriors a two-point lead. 

Horford even outscored Curry 12 to 11 in the fourth quarter from those four threes.

Were these the kind of games that Horford had in mind when he signed with the Warriors?

“I don’t know about the play-in,” Horford joked, “but the type of intensity in a meaningful game like this, yes. And then me being able to help our group, be there in those moments, I’m very grateful for that opportunity.” 

The Warriors at the trade deadline brought in one of Horford’s close friends and championship teammate on the Boston Celtics. Kristaps Porziņģis scoring 20 points, throwing down a monster putback dunk and making three 3-pointers in this one game was more important than the 15 previously he had played on the Warriors. The win also left a lasting impression on Porziņģis, delaying his intriguing free agency this summer. 

The play-in isn’t the regular season, nor is it the playoffs. In the regular season, the Warriors went 7-34 when trailing going into the fourth quarter. Championship DNA can even show up in the postseason ghostland of the play-in. 

“This is the one of those 41 that if we lose we go home,” Green said to me. “We don’t want to go home. We want to keep playing. Anytime you got Steph Curry, you got a chance. So it’s on all of us to do our part to give him a chance to show his greatness. Everybody did their part. 

“Brandin Podziemski was huge. Everybody did their part – Gui Santos. And we allowed him to be Steph Curry.” 

It was Santos, 23, whose 20 points tied Porzingis for second-most on the team while leading the Warriors in plus/minus at plus-16. Podziemski, 23 and the youngest Warrior, was second in plus-minus, plus-10, third in scoring with 17 points and led in rebounds with seven. Each had miscues, but neither was scared of the moment. 

This fading star was down by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter. Its light still flickers, and even shines, from time to time.

“With all the wins that we’ve had here, a lot of them with a lot more at stake, this is right up there,” Kerr said. “Just because where we are and our age and the decline of our performance this year with the injuries. It was just a beautiful display of competitive will.” 

Even for at least one more night, these are still the Warriors, and this is still what they do.

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The Philadelphia 76ers survived the NBA play-in tournament with Wednesday night’s win over the Orlando Magic. Now, they’ll face their next — and far greater — challenge: the Boston Celtics.

For the fourth time in eight years, Boston and Philadelphia will meet in a best-of-seven series. Historically, the Celtics have dominated, winning each of their last six playoff matchups dating back to the 1985 Eastern Conference Finals. And while coach Nick Nurse — along with other members of the coaching staff — is among the rare few in the locker room old enough to recall the Sixers eliminating the Celtics in the playoffs, the team is still looking forward to Sunday afternoon’s Game 1 in Boston.

“This group is tough. We ain’t backing down from nobody,” Tyrese Maxey told reporters, per NBC Sports. “Trust me, if y’all seen our practices earlier in the year, I thought we were trying to kill each other. I was like, ‘Listen, this is too physical for me. I’m going to sit on the sidelines.’ But it’s a good thing, though. It’s a really good thing, and we have a lot of tough guys out there. We’re not gonna take no miss, and I think that’s going to be good for us.”

Maxey scored a team-high 31 points for Philadelphia on Wednesday night. In the regular season, Maxey averaged 30 points on 51.4 percent shooting from three with 8.8 assists in four games against the Celtics.

“I want to win, so that’s all that matters,” Maxey said. “But you gotta go out there and really compete, and we’ve done it. We won in Boston earlier this year. I think we beat them home once, so it’ll be fun. I think they’re a great team and it’s gonna be a great challenge for us.”

Nurse, well aware of the Boston-Philadelphia rivalry, is also looking forward to the series. As the Sixers locked in a first-round matchup with the Celtics, fans at Xfinity Mobile Arena broke into chants of “We want Boston.”

“It’ll be a great atmosphere in both arenas,” Nurse told reporters, per NBC Sports. “I think that’s always a blast when you get two arenas that are electric with energy. And playoff time, you gotta really look forward and enjoy that, and we’ll do our best.”

Even though it’s Nurse’s third year at the helm in Philadelphia, he’s no stranger to the Celtics. Six years ago, as head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Nurse faced younger versions of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the 2020 semifinals. His Raptors pushed Boston to a winner-take-all Game 7 in the NBA’s pandemic-shortened season before ultimately falling short.

This time around, Nurse is battling a depleted Sixers roster that’s undergone no shortage of adversity throughout the regular season and into the playoffs.

On Opening Night, Philadelphia relied on Maxey and rookie V.J. Edgecombe to defeat the Celtics 117-116. Star center Joel Embiid scored four points, shooting 1-of-9 and forward Paul George was sidelined, recovering from a left knee injury. Little improved from there, as Embiid and George both played less than half the season, while Embiid underwent emergency surgery for appendicitis last week.

Nurse didn’t even expect Embiid to be in attendance on Philadelphia’s bench during Wednesday night’s victory.

“Some of the other guys didn’t know he was there either,” Nurse mentioned. “They asked him how he was. He said he feels good. Smiled. Some of the players said hello to him, and all that kind of stuff. So it was good to have him around.”

The Sixers went 45-37 during the regular season, splitting their four-game regular-season series with the Celtics, 2-2. Philadelphia averaged the league’s second-fewest assists (24.6) and ranked 17th in rebounds (43.6 per game).

Meanwhile, Boston secured the No. 2 seed in the East despite adjusting throughout Tatum’s 62-game absence. The Celtics averaged the fewest turnovers in the NBA (12.4 per game) and led the conference in both 3-pointers made (15.5) and in offensive rating.

“They’re playing great,” Nurse said. “They’ve played really great all season. They got a bunch of guys that have been together — a core group of guys that have been together for a long time, through a lot of winning and a lot of deep runs. Tremendous, tremendous challenge for us, but we’ll see if we can go figure something out between now and Sunday.”

Nurse acknowledges the path to punching their playoff ticket wasn’t ideal. After Philadelphia’s play-in win over Orlando, the Sixers now find themselves heading to TD Garden to face their next challenge. Still, Nurse is focused on what they can make of the opportunity ahead.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Nurse said. “It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pretty, but we’re here now, and now we have to see what we can do with it.”

Steph Curry settled debate among Warriors fans with performance vs. Clippers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The debate that raged through the streets of Dub Nation from mid-March into early April reached emphatic resolution Wednesday night.

Stephen Curry delivered such a spectacular final argument that even those who didn’t want to see him step on a basketball court until October must know it’s OK to concede their case.

Ten days after returning from a 65-day absence due to persistent soreness in his right knee, Curry’s presence and production carried the Warriors to a 121-116 NBA play-in tournament victory that extends their season for at least one more game while shoving the favored Los Angeles Clippers into the offseason.

For all the thoughts and prayers coming Curry’s way during his recovery, this was his “Thank you and appreciate you, but this is why I wanted to rejoin my teammates.”

Curry scored 35 points, 27 of which came in the second half, when the Warriors were trimming deficit after deficit until they overtook the Clippers at Intuit Dome. With LA’s defense designed to limit his production, he played 36 minutes, shot 12 of 23 from the field, including 7 of 12 from distance.

Steph was more than fine. He was divine.

“This is why Steph came back,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters in Inglewood. “So, everybody out there who thought Steph should have taken the rest of the year off, this is what he does! This is who he is! If he can compete, he’s going to compete. And it was just incredible to watch.”

Kerr pounded the table five times before saying, “this is what he does.” Yet it was reasonable for fans to wonder if Curry should spend his energy playing basketball for a Golden State team that watched its compromised goals all but vanish in his absence. He turned 38 while sidelined. The Warriors were losing twice as often as winning. They meant well. Their concerns were valid.

But this was Steph’s rebuttal. From Jan. 30, when he limped off the court with what was diagnosed as “runner’s knee,” he endured went through hundreds of hours of ice and rehab and recovery because he was determined to return.

“We talked about it the whole time,” Curry said of time off the court. “If we have any type of chance or hope to extend our season, I want to be out there to experience it.”

Curry did more than experience it. He was most responsible for manufacturing a victory that sends Golden State into a winner-take-all play-in game Friday night in Phoenix. He got plenty of assistance, with Gui Santos and Kristaps Porziņģis each scoring 20 points, Al Horford banging four triples in the pivotal fourth quarter and Draymond Green defending LA superstar Kawhi Leonard into virtual irrelevance.

But Curry shook off an unimpressive first half (eight points, 2-of-9 shooting from the field, including 2 of 5 from beyond the arc) to lift his team’s collective confidence by scoring 16 of Golden State’s 30 points in the third quarter.

“When the head of the snake is locked in like that and everything’s going wrong for him and he stays dialed in and continues to push forward, no one else is allowed to drop your head,” Green said of Curry. “You’re going to watch this guy who has nothing to play for. If he goes home today, he’s Steph Curry. Nothing is changing that.

“But you watch him go through what he’s gone through. You watch him deal with the tough start. And his head is held high. The next shot in his mind is his best shot. Well, everybody else feeds off that.”

Spurred by a strong third quarter, Golden State in the fourth quarter crafted a work of art. After posting 16 assists through three quarters, the Warriors recorded 13 in the fourth, Santos, Green and Curry each with three dimes. They shot 75 percent from the field, including 72.7 from deep. Curry dropped 11 points, while Horford had 12 on 4-of-4 shooting beyond the arc.

This game never was a rout, but Golden State’s 16-6 run over the final 3:15 looked a lot like euphoria. For the Warriors. For Curry.

“This is what you work all year for all summer, all offseason,” Curry said. “We’re not guaranteed a series yet, but these nights make everything worth it because you feel the anxiety of having to perform when the lights are bright, a do-or-die game.

“The last two days of preparation trying to get our game plan right and got us really locked in on the moment so . . . considering how our season has gone, and all the injuries and all that, for us to play the way we did tonight was special.”

Curry did a walk-off interview with Amazon Prime, another with Prime’s studio panel and a third with local and national reporters. Nearly 24 minutes total. He seemed to enjoy it.

Should Steph have come back? His 36-minute closing argument was a resounding yes.

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Well, they did it. The Golden State Warriors saved their best for last, ending a three-month run of uninteresting play, and emerging from their first play-in tournament game with one of their most entertaining games of the season.

More importantly, they emerged with a win. The Warriors ended the season leaking oil, and faced off in the first round of the play-in tournament against an LA Clippers team that had some tangible momentum. On top of that, the game was in Los Angeles.

No matter. The Warriors used multiple double-digit comebacks — including one in the fourth quarter — to beat the Clippers 126-121, and advance to the second round of the play-in tournament, where a spot in the NBA Playoffs will be on the line.

That’s a worry for another day, though. Friday, specifically. For today, we judge the players who took the court and pulled off the epic victory. And to do that, we assign grades. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for that player.

Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. This year, league-average TS was 58.1%.

Gui Santos

32 minutes, 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 5 turnovers, 2 fouls, 9-for-13 shooting, 2-for-4 threes, 76.9% TS, +16

We saw a lot of the good and the bad with Santos in this game. There was a reason he got the start, and there was a reason he was the lone player to get subbed out of the game less than three minutes in, with the Warriors already down double digits. There was a reason he came back in not long after that. He had the most turnovers on the team, but also the best plus/minus. He had some of the biggest, most clutch shots, and some of the most back-breaking turnovers.

And yet, as is almost always the case with Santos, the good far outweighed the bad, and it’s hard — virtually impossible — to envision the Warriors winning the game without his contributions.

If you’re frustrated by the difficult moments, just remember that Santos is a 23-year old who entered this year having played in just 79 NBA games … and averaging just 12.1 minutes in those games. This is his first year with a significant role in the NBA. There will be bumps, and times where the game moves a little too fast for him.

But the good was mesmerizing. His footwork broke down Clippers defenders time and time again. His cuts were perfectly timed. And he created chaos with his defense and rebounding. It’s easy to see why Steve Kerr loves him.

He probably gets a B+ if this is a regular season game. But it wasn’t.

Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team.

Draymond Green

35 minutes, 7 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, 3 turnovers, 2 fouls, 3-for-5 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 70.0% TS, 0 +/-

On Tuesday, I wrote an article listing a few ways that the Warriors could pull off the upset. Here’s a snippet from that article:

The Klaw has scored 40 or more points on five occasions this season, and the Clippers have amassed five blowout victories in those games. He’s been held to 20 points or fewer just seven times, and LA has gone a lowly 1-6 in those contests, including an October loss to the Warriors.

If there’s one thing the Warriors should be focused on, it’s limiting Leonard. And if there’s one person who is up for that job, it’s Draymond Green.

Kawhi Leonard entered the fourth quarter with 19 points. And he was stuck on that number until the final seconds, when he finally made a layup, but only because the Warriors were playing no-threes defense. Those were his only points of the quarter.

He was utterly and entirely shut down by Green in the quarter (and really all game … almost all of Leonard’s damage came against other defenders). It was, quite simply, one of the best individual defensive performances in the NBA this season. And as he so often does, Green turned it on when it mattered most. Not only was his fourth quarter truly special, but Dray forced not one, but two turnovers by Leonard in the final minute, when the game was still very much up for grabs. For as special as Steph Curry’s offense was, Green’s defense was equally memorable.

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in assists.

Kristaps Porziņģis

28 minutes, 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 8-for-12 shooting, 3-for-6 threes, 1-for-3 free throws, 75.1% TS, -4

There are a lot of questions that the Warriors have to ask about Porziņģis when the offseason starts, which it notably did not due on Wednesday. The two biggest ones are: how healthy can he be going forward, and how much money will he command in free agency?

But, critically, there are also a few questions that the Warriors don’t have to ask about Porziņģis. Namely: how good is he, and how well does he fit on the team?

Porziņģis looked like his All-Star self in this game. He had numerous highlight defensive plays, single-handedly ending multiple Clippers possessions that looked like easy buckets. He was a walking bucket, scoring from all over the court, largely within the system but also taking matters into his own hands when it was needed. And he had some passes that made your eyes pop wide open.

It was a complete — and completely excellent — performance. And it left no doubt as to whether or not the Warriors will make re-signing Porziņģis a priority this coming offseason.

Grade: A+

Brandin Podziemski

41 minutes, 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 4 turnovers, 2 fouls, 5-for-11 shooting, 2-for-7 threes, 5-for-8 free throws, 58.5% TS, +10

Don’t let the ridiculous narratives surrounding the Warriors and their (lack of) two timelines keep you from appreciating what’s in front of your face. Podziemski and Santos were a reminder that the Warriors young players can be the perfect complements to the Hall of Fame-bound core.

Podz did a little bit of everything in this game. His defense and the way he free safetied himself towards every loose ball were game changers. He drew multiple charges late (and took his fair share of damage in the process), and was tied with Leonard for the second-most rebounds of any player in the game.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Podziemski’s offense was also more efficient than it looks on paper, as a good chunk of his shots were late in the clock when he had to force something up.

But the biggest thing that Podz did was keep the energy level dialed up. He started the game with endless energy. When the Warriors fell behind by double digits in the first quarter, he maintained that endless energy. When they fell behind by double digits in the third quarter, he maintained that endless energy. When they fell behind by double digits in the fourth quarter, he maintained that endless energy.

And it all played out with one of the biggest shots of the night, when he took a Green steal inside the final minute, and turned it into a beat-everyone-down-the-court transition and-one layup.

Grade: A
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds.

Steph Curry

36 minutes, 35 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls, 12-for-23 shooting, 7-for-12 threes, 4-for-5 free throws, 69.4% TS, +9

I have no words. I really just have no words. Curry was the best player on the court, and if you want to know why they won — and why they’ll have a good chance on Friday — look no further than that point right there.

Curry took his time to get going. He had just three points in the first quarter, and an inefficient eight points in the first half. But the world was his (and Draymond’s) in the second half, and we were all just living in it. The Clippers very much included.

Steph had 16 third-quarter points, and he was just getting started. It was big shot after big shot after big shot, each bucket seeming to give the Warriors a lifeline when they were on the verge of losing. His biggest shot? A 29-foot step-back three that broke a tie with just 50 seconds remaining. In total, the Warriors — who won by five points — outscored the Clippers by 15 in the fourth quarter minutes that Curry played.

Curry didn’t just lead the Warriors to victory on Wednesday. He reminded you that, even in what has been a miserable season, there are 30 reasons to be happy that the season lives to see another game.

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.

Gary Payton II

24 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 fouls, 2-for-4 shooting, 2-for-3 free throws, 56.4% TS, +8

Payton was more impactful than his numbers would suggest. He helped Golden State’s defense swarm the perimeter, which forced LA into countless chaotic offensive possessions. And he sure made the most out the points that he did score.

GPII is another one of those players who feels more important the bigger the game is. He can change a game with his defense, and he’s never going to make the mistakes the give the game away.

Grade: A-

De’Anthony Melton

23 minutes, 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 3-for-7 shooting, 0-for-2 threes, 1-for-2 free throws, 47.0% TS, -7

Not Melton’s best game, but with Curry playing as well as he did, the Warriors didn’t really need it to be Melton’s best game. The important thing is that he kept the team afloat, and kept the offense moving when Curry was on the bench. The Dubs don’t fall apart when Curry is resting, and Melton is the biggest reason why.

Grade: C+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.

Al Horford

22 minutes, 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 5-for-8 shooting, 4-for-7 threes, 87.5% TS, -7

I don’t know if Horford will be back next year or not. He has a player option for $6 million which the Warriors would likely be thrilled if he opted into, but perhaps retirement — or free agency — will come calling.

Either way, this is a game that will cement his legacy with the team, because it really was an unforgettable performance. Just past the midway point in the fourth quarter, with the Clippers slipping away, Horford made threes on three consecutive possessions to pull the Warriors back to within two points. He added another three a few possessions later, giving Golden State their first lead of the quarter with 2:12 remaining. And then he buckled in and played outstanding defense for the final minutes.

You can say this about a lot of players, but the Warriors don’t win on Wednesday if not for Horford. We won’t forget that performance anytime soon.

Grade: A+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the worst plus/minus on the team.

Wednesday’s DNP-CDs: Charles Bassey, Seth Curry, Will Richard, Pat Spencer

Wednesday’s inactives: Jimmy Butler III, Moses Moody, Quinten Post

The first round of the NBA Play-In Tournament is a wrap, which means the playoff field is nearly set.

We now know who the No. 7 seeds will be in both the Eastern and Western Conferences: the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively.

Now, the final two games of the Play-In, which will be Friday, April 17, will determine the No. 8 seeds. The Orlando Magic will host the Charlotte Hornets in the East, and the Phoenix Suns will host the Golden State Warriors out West.

But first, we have the chance to make sense of the first round.

Here are the winners and losers of the NBA Play-In Tournament, thus far:

Chris Paul’s return to the L.A. Clippers didn't go the way he expected. He shared his reaction after his former team's disappointing performance in the NBA Play-In Tournament on Wednesday, April 15.

The Clippers parted ways with the 40-year-old guard in December 2025, but Paul clearly has kept his eyes on the team in the months that followed.

He shared a well-known meme of a man dressed for a funeral, in the moments following the Clippers' season-ending 126-121 loss to the Golden State Warriors on April 15.

Chris Paul reacts to the Clippers’ loss. pic.twitter.com/pwbeleSCC7

— James H. Williams | USA Today (@JHWill) April 16, 2026

Paul was officially traded to the Toronto Raptors as part of a three-team trade on Feb. 5. He was waived by the Raptors and retired on Feb. 13. The 12-time All-Star spent 21 years in the NBA, including parts of seven seasons with the Clippers.

He averaged 2.9 points, 3.3 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game in 16 games played this season.

The Clippers finished third in the Pacific Division after closing out the regular season with a 42-40 record.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Paul reacts to Clippers' loss to Warriors in NBA Play-In game

INGLEWOOD — For one reason or another, neither team inside the Intuit Dome for the Western Conference’s bottom play-in game expected to be there.

In the end, a Warriors team decimated by injuries will get another chance at the unlikeliest of playoff berths. On the other side, a Clippers team that started the year 6-21 and surrounded by off-the-court controversy had its season come to an end Wednesday in a 126-121 loss to Golden State in a Western Conference play-in game.

Both teams understood they would have the longest of shots this postseason, but those slim odds — a chance to play meaningful basketball — are exactly what Steph Curry worked his way back from a persistent knee injury to experience again.

Curry made the most of it, with 35 points in 36 minutes. Kristaps Porzingis and Gui Santos added 20 apiece, and Golden State limited Kawhi Leonard to 21 points in 40 minutes.

The Clippers’ backcourt of Darius Garland and Benedict Mathurin torched the Warriors for a combined 44 points — a team-high 23 from Mathurin, 15 in the second half — but they allowed a double-digit fourth quarter lead to slip away into the grasp of the championship pedigree on the other side.

With four late 3s in quick succession from Al Horford, the Warriors were able to withstand 20 turnovers that turned into 35 Clippers points, seven more points left at the foul line and a series of illegal screens that wiped out more points, left coach Steve Kerr incensed and led to a technical foul on Draymond Green.

Green forced a pair of turnovers on Leonard to seal the game in the final minute. It took that long for the Warriors to grab their largest lead of the game after playing from behind for most of the game.

Los Angeles led by double digits with 9:35 to play and didn’t relinquish its lead until Horford connected on his fourth 3-pointer to put Golden State up 117-115 for its first lead since early in the second quarter.

What it means

The game came down to who had the better duo.

Curry and Porzingis proved to be more powerful than Leonard and Garland.

The win was the Warriors’ first against the Clippers in Los Angeles since Nov. 28, 2021, snapping a nine-game road losing streak that was Golden State’s longest against a single opponent in Kerr’s 12 seasons.

The Clippers can book their cabanas in Cabo. The Warriors are making travel plans for Phoenix, where they will face a second win-or-go-home play-in game against the No. 7 seed Suns.

Turning point

Garland helped the Clippers race out to an early 12-2 lead with eight of his 21 points coming in the first quarter. Los Angeles extended its lead as wide as 13, but the Warriors never went away. All the while, they were waiting for a patented Curry flurry.

It began midway through the third quarter.

Curry, held to eight points and 2-of-9 shooting in the first half, exploded for 16 in the third quarter. Curry turned a dribble handoff from Draymond Green into a four-point play, pulled up from 30 feet and sank another from distance after crossing over his defender.

Curry gave the Warriors hope.

Horford finished the job.

MVP: Steph Curry

Curry was unstoppable when it mattered most.

On top of his 16 in the third, he added another 12 in the fourth for 26 after halftime.

Stat of the game: 13-for-21

It was a tale of two halves for the Warriors beyond the 3-point line.

They were held to 30% — 6-for-20 — in the first half. As Curry, Horford and Porzingis took over in the second half, Golden State made 13 of 21 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Up next

The Clippers’ season is over, putting an end to the most dramatic turnaround in NBA history. The Warriors, meanwhile, are on to Phoenix. They will play the Suns on Friday night for the chance to head to Oklahoma City as the No. 8 seed for a first-round matchup with the defending champion Thunder.

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The Golden State Warriors injury mired, frustrating season isn’t over yet. Despite a 13-point fourth quarter deficit, the Dubs defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 and will play the Phoenix Suns for the eighth-seed in the Western Conference. It would be easy to argue that the Clippers were the better team on Wednesday night, leading for most of the game. But they didn’t have Steph Curry.

It would also be easy to argue that Dub Nation would have felt relief for this season to finally be over. The Warriors were disappointing early and mired in drama. Then, they faced an avalanche of injuries just as they seemed to be hitting their stride. There are no logical championship hopes left. Why keep trudging through the muck?

Yet the end to a season, even a disappointing one, only brings Steph Curry’s career closer to an end. It’s why he worked so hard to return from his injury even as the Dubs fell in the standings. We all got to see his magic on display Wednesday because he refused to quit.

Curry had the basketball world transfixed once again. Steph has done it over and over since he first burst onto the scene at Davidson back in 2008. No matter how dark or distracted NBA fandom can be by discourse and debates, nothing has unified everyone for more than a decade than Steph Curry with a basketball in his hands dancing on defenses.

The Warriors victory gifts us all a chance to maybe see a couple more moments like that from Steph this season.

Curry finished with 35 points on 12-for-23 shooting from the field (7-for-12 from three). He was 10-for-14 with 27 points in the second half alone. Despite some ugly moments, Gui Santos finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and a game-high +16 plus/minus. Al Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis were the most important offensive sidekicks for Steph, though. Porziņģis recorded 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. Horford had 14 critical points.

Benedict Mathurin led the Clippers with 23 points in 29 minutes, and was perhaps underutilized attacking weaker defenders. Kawhi Leonard finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, but committed 5 turnovers and made just one shot in the fourth quarter.

Golden State got off to a horrendous start, particularly offensively. The Clippers unsurprisingly did everything possible to force the ball out of Curry’s hands early and the strategy paid off. The Dubs fell behind 12-2 and would not lead in the quarter.

The Warriors were similarly quick to try and force the ball out of their opponent’s best offensive player’s hands. However, Leonard found his footing quicker and had a supporting cast seemingly more ready for the moment. At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers led 31-22.

Porziņģis chose an opportune time to have his best performance since Steph’s return. The center led a 13-0 Warriors run with Curry on the bench to put Golden State ahead. The lead would not last for long, but it did help the Dubs continue to bide their time.

Steph finished the first half with just 8 points on 2-for-9 shooting from the field alongside 0 rebounds or assists. The fact that Golden State only trailed 61-53 was a sign that the Clippers were wasting opportunities.

The Warriors lack of athleticism and offensive creators was on full display against the Clippers length. At times, Santos looked overwhelmed in his first prolonged playoff-adjacent rotation minutes. Santos, De’Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II, and Brandin Podziemski all had uncharacteristic drops and made poor passing decisions. As a team, the Dubs committed 20 turnovers.

Yet, Draymond Green’s defensive effort was the Warriors savior. Leonard capitalized whenever he could get off Green, but Draymond kept the Clippers from every building enough offensive momentum to pull away.

Golden State also targeted Darius Garland, the Clippers dynamic point guard, on defense. He picked up his fifth foul in the third quarter. While he did not foul out until the game was largely decided, his weak defense was made even worse as he tried to avoid fouling out.

It seemed like every time the Warriors pulled within five points, the Clippers answered.

Curry exploded for 16 points in the third quarter, but Los Angeles remained largely in control.

Porziņģis converted an and-one and a deep transition three on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to three, but Garland responded with an and-one and a step-back three to bring the lead back to 10.

The Clippers started the fourth quarter ahead by six and immediately went on a 5-0 run. A timely basket from Melton and a three from Santos successfully kept things from getting out of hand. A one-man press from Payton forced a Clippers turnover with 9:27 left in regulation, and Curry checked back in trialing 98-88. On his first possession, he knocked down an open three.

Then Horford emerged for his first signature moment in a Warriors uniform. The future Hall of Famer entered the game with 6:36 left in regulation. The Clippers led 108-99.

Horford made threes on three consecutive possessions. Two minutes later, Horford made his fourth triple of the quarter to give put Golden State ahead 117-115, giving the Warriors their first lead in the second half.

The good news came with some bad, however. Draymond seemed to hyperextend his knee on the next possession. As Brook Lopez went to the free-throw line (where he’d tie the game at 117), Green quickly hobbled to the bench, stretched, and insisted on playing through the pain.

Curry missed a three, but the Warriors forced a stop at the other end to give him another opportunity to break the tie. Leonard would not score in the fourth quarter, save for a mostly-meaningless bucket in the closing seconds, almost entirely thanks to Green.

Curry and Green ran a two-man game as the clock ticked under a minute remaining. Curry tossed the ball to Draymond before faking a cut and spinning around his longest-tenured teammate. Green knew what Steph wanted, left him the ball and Steph shot over two desperately chasing Clippers for a three.

The Warriors led 120-117 with 50.7 seconds left in regulation.

The Clippers called timeout, but that let the Warriors setup defensively. Draymond denied an in-bound pass to Leonard and his steal setup Podziemski for an and-one layup on the other end.

Golden State had it’s largest lead of the night (123-117) and Green stole the ball from Leonard again. Steph drew a foul and split the free throws to go ahead by 7. Green continued to lock down defensively and forced the Clippers to burn precious clock. They got a layup, but it was too much too late.

Somehow.

Someway.

The Warriors had won.

But we know the how and the way.

It was Steph Curry with enough scoring punch from his teammates and Draymond Green’s legendary defense.

It may not lead to a title, but don’t let that spoil the fun.

It was do or die Wednesday night at Intuit Dome, and the Clippers did not do enough to keep their season alive, blowing a 13-point lead early in the fourth quarter and losing to the Golden State Warriors, 126-121.

Having rebounded from a franchise-worst 6-21 start to earn the next-to-last berth in the NBA play-in tournament, coach Tyronn Lue’s resilient bunch could not extend its historic comeback on its home floor.

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 35 points, Kristaps Porzingis and and Gui Santos each had 20, and Brandin Podziemski added 17. The Warriors were 19 for 41 from three-point range, with Al Horford hitting four in the fourth quarter.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 points off the bench, while Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland each added 21 points for the Clippers, who won three of the teams’ four regular-season meetings, including a 115-110 victory in the same arena four days earlier. Wednesday night, however, Leonard was held scoreless in the fourth quarter until the final seconds as the Warriors rallied.

"It happens, we’ve won games like that before, we’ve lost games like that before,” Leonard said. "They played great defense, they won the game. They deserve it. They scored 43 points in the fourth quarter.” 

Garland, a point guard acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers at the trade deadline in exchange for James Harden, contributed mightily to the team’s late-season surge but picked up his fifth foul with 2:51 left in the third quarter and fouled out with 50 seconds left in the fourth. 

“It came down to contested threes and not a lot of good possessions for us... in the end No.30 did what 30 does,” he said, referring to Curry. “It was fun for the time I’ve been here. To be in the play-in game is a credit to this group and the coaching staff. This isn’t the way we wanted to end the season, but this group is amazing and everybody wants to win. The championship pedigree they have over there shined through.” 

The Clippers got off to a hot start, scoring 12 straight points to take a 10-point lead 3:19 into the game, but Golden State used a 12-2 run of its own to tie it and took a 17-16 lead on Curry’s first three-pointer with 5:07 left in the first. A 15-5 run put the Clippers back up 31-22 at the end of the quarter.

Porzingis’ three-pointer from the top of the key put the Warriors in front early in the second quarter, but the Clippers closed the first half with a flourish. The Warriors' Draymond Green got assessed a technical foul, and Leonard made the ensuing free throw to give his team a 10-point lead with 3:24 left; the Clippers headed to the locker room ahead 61-53.

Back-to-back buckets by Derrick Jones Jr. pushed the Clippers’ lead back to 10 points with 7:48 left in the third quarter, but again the proud Warriors responded with eight straight points by Curry, including a rare four-point play, to pull within four. The Clippers pushed the lead back to 11 before Golden State used a 5-0 run to creep within 89-83 heading to the fourth quarter.

Porzingis’ three-pointer whittled the Warriors' deficit down to three with 8:16 left, but Garland’s three-pointer pushed the margin back to nine with 6:36 left. Horford’s final three gave the Warriors a 117-115 lead with 2:12 left. Brook Lopez hit a pair of free throws to tie it with 1:51 left, but Curry, as he has done so many times in his career, sank a three-pointer to put his team up 120-117 with 50 seconds remaining. Green, guarding Leonard, then tipped away the Clippers' inbounds pass out of a timeout, and Podziemski drove for a three-point play as the visitors hung on.

"We turned the ball over 18 times for 23 points and we can’t do that,” Lue said. “Horford made some big shots to get them back in the game. We had the game in our hands and made silly plays. To be up 13 with 10 minutes left… we have to finish that game.”

The Clippers had won nine consecutive home games against Golden State, their longest active home winning streak against a conference opponent. The Warriors had last beat the Clippers in Los Angeles on Nov. 28, 2021 at Staples Center, then their home arena. 

The Warriors’ reward is a flight to Phoenix where they will take on the Suns in a Friday night matchup to decide the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference. The Suns had a chance to clinch the No. 7 seed Monday but lost at home to Portland, 114-110. Should the Warriors prevail they will meet No. 1-seeded and defending champion Oklahoma City in a best-of-seven series opening Sunday on the road.

Steve Kerr, who has coached Golden State to four NBA championships in 12 seasons, stated before the game that his team was ready for the challenge — and it was. 

“We have a lot of veteran guys who have been through big moments,” Kerr said. "It’s the exact same vibe as any other elimination game — you have to be locked in. We’re aware that this is an opportunity we may not get again, we don’t know. The first year [of the play-in] we were the eighth seed and I hated it. This year we’re 10th and I love it. I think it’s good for the league.”  

After their disastrous start the Clippers went 36-19 the rest of the way and became the first team in NBA history to dip 15 games below .500 and finish with a winning record. Leonard played 65 games and averaged a career-best 27.9 points, however Wednesday’s loss was a bitter pill to swallow. 

"They had a great game plan, being physical all game and making sure I don’t get my catch-and-shoot shots,” Leonard said. "Draymond Green is a Hall of Fame defender — it was hard to get shots. I’m not used to losing a lot of games early in the season. We could’ve easily let go of the rope but we made strides and the eight seed was right there, but in the end it wasn’t good enough."

Entering the last year of a three-year contract, Leonard was asked if he wanted to remain with the Clippers.

"I’m going to cry about this loss a little more and we’ll have our discussions when the time comes.” he said.

The Clippers dropped to 6-8 all-time in the postseason against the Warriors. Lopez had 17 points, Derrick Jones Jr. had 13, John Collins had 11 and Kris Dunn had seven points and 10 assists.  

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.