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Coach JJ Redick reemphasized on Friday night that the Lakers can’t be worried about their playoff seeding considering the circumstances they’re in.

And that the seeding considerations for the end of their season “probably went out the window” after the loss to the Thunder on April 2, in which star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves both suffered regular season-ending injuries. 

But their 101-73 win over the Suns at Crypto.com Arena not only secured homecourt advantage for the Lakers in their first-round playoff series, but also maintained the possibility of them achieving their ultimate goal of being the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. 

LeBron James once again led the Lakers, this time with 28 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals in 32 minutes. 

James has 28 points (60% shooting, 46.2% on 3-pointers), 12.7 assists, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals in the three games he’s played since the injuries to Doncic and Reaves.

“I had to tap back into a role that I’ve been accustomed to in the past, but obviously it wasn’t what it was this year,” James said. “But circumstances have put me back in there and I’m just trying to feed off my teammates, teammates are feeding off of me and just trying to make things happen for us to continue to stay afloat.”

Luke Kennard added 19 points and 3 assists, while Rui Hachimura had 13 points and Deandre Ayton finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds. 

Marcus Smart had 6 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals in his first game since March 21. 

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What it means

The Lakers, who improved to a 52-29 record, can’t finish worse than No. 4 in the West after Friday’s win and the loss from the Rockets (51-30) to the Timberwolves on Friday. 

The Rockets’ loss locked them in as the fifth seed. 

If the Nuggets (53-28) beat the Spurs on Sunday, they would secure the No. 3 seed. If the Nuggets lose and the Lakers beat the Jazz on Sunday, the Lakers would finish as the third seed.

The Lakers will either host the No. 6 Timberwolves or No. 5 Rockets. 

Turning point 

When Marcus Smart, who played in his first game after three-week absence because of a right ankle contusion, made a pair of floaters to put the Lakers up 73-58 midday through the third quarter. 

MVP: LeBron James

The 41-year-old star wasn’t kidding when he was caught on camera in Dallas telling fans at American Airlines Center that he can “still do this s–t” last weekend.

James recorded his third straight points-assists double-double since the injuries to Doncic and Reaves. 

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His 22 points in the first half did not only set a tone, but were tied for the most points he scored in a half this season. 

He also scored 22 first-half points in the loss to the Mavericks on April 5. 

Stat of the game: 18

That’s how many offensive rebounds the Suns grabbed on Friday night. 

The Suns scored 27 second-chance points, one of their more significant sources of offense during a night they were without star guard Devin Booker.

The Lakers held the Suns to just five offensive boards in the second half, which helped the Lakers outscore the Suns 44-25 in the final two quarters.

Grayson Allen and Collin Gillespie didn’t play in the second half.

Up next

The Lakers will play their final regular season game on Sunday when they host the Jazz.

The Golden State Warriors played their penultimate game of the season on Friday night, and it both went according to plan and not very well at all. In a self-professed dress rehearsal for next week’s play-in tournament, the Warriors prepped themselves for higher-leverage games … but still lost to the lowly Sacramento Kings 124-118.

For the first time since returning from injury, Steph Curry started the game, and that seemed to portend good things. Curry made a three on the very first possession of the game, and Kristaps Porziņģis made one two possessions later, giving the Dubs a 6-0 lead less than a minute into the game. But after that hot start, the Warriors started to show some rust, which was understandable given that the unfamiliarity of the lineup.

Bad turned to worse when, trailing 12-9, Curry hunched over in pain and walked very gingerly, prompting a Steve Kerr timeout. But thankfully it appeared to just be a knocked knee, as Curry stayed in the game after the timeout, and everyone exhaled.

It felt like the Warriors were playing fairly well for a while, and they certainly had all sorts of energy, yet the Kings somehow just kept scoring and kept scoring, and kept scoring, with old foe Malik Monk catching fire. Curry played most of the first quarter — a clear tune-up for the postseason — but, following a quarter-ending three by Dylan Cardwell, the Kings still led 32-27 after the first frame.

The Warriors came out of the second-quarter gates with a very eager defense, but the Kings were committed to defending Curry, and they were doing a very good job of it. The game was getting a little ugly, until Sacramento broke out with some rhythm.

While the Kings are not a good shooting team, and were missing the bulk of their best players, they couldn’t miss for a while in the second quarter. Rhythm begat more rhythm, as the Kings shooters just seemed completely in sync (Devin Carter, for instance, shot 6-for-11, despite shooting 24.0% on threes this year, and 26.1% in his career). Sacramento pushed the lead and pushed the lead and pushed the lead, until suddenly it was a 15-point game.

De’Anthony Melton was having a fine time scoring for the Warriors, with 13 in the frame. But no one else could find rhythm, separation, or the bottom of the bucket (his teammates combined for just 11 points in the quarter). At halftime, the Kings — who are 29th in the NBA in three-point percentage, and 30th in threes made per game — had shot 10-for-19 from distance, and held a 63-51 lead.

But if the Warriors have something to hang their hat on from the loss — and if you want something to give you a little confidence heading into game No. 83 — it came in the third quarter, which seemed to be when the Warriors most pretended like the outcome of this game mattered. And while it was ultimately a meaningless game for both teams, the quarter was one of the most entertaining ones that the Dubs have had this year.

It was ugly, but in a fun way. Carter committed a flagrant foul on Draymond Green just 85 seconds into the half, which resulted in a five-point possession for the Dubs, as Green sank both free throws, and Brandin Podziemski followed it up with a three-point play. That was part of a 12-0 Warriors run following a Sacramento bucket on the opening possession, and during the run we were treated to the veteran Green getting into it with Kings rookie Maxime Raynaud.

Things were heating up, and it was a lot of fun to watch. It settled into a back-and-forth affair for the middle portion of the quarter, and the execution was a lot of fun to watch. Eventually it turned into a slugfest, and not just in the trading buckets way, but in the physical sense of the word. Extra hard screens were being set, with elbows and shoulders being thrown into players. Fouls had a little something extra on them. Gary Payton II picked up a technical. The Warriors tied it and the Kings went on a 6-0 run, then the Warriors responded with a 7-0 run, which included Curry drawing a technical for celebrating from the sideline after Al Horford drained a three.

The whole team was playing with energy and aggression, but perhaps no one more so than Podziemski, who was in full-on attack mode. Suddenly everything was going the Warriors way, and they employed an ultra-scrappy closing lineup — Podziemski, Pat Spencer, Gui Santos, Malevy Leons, and Charles Bassey — which gave them an 89-82 lead after the third quarter.

Steve Kerr opted for a double-big lineup to start the fourth, with Horford and Porziņģis sharing the court with Curry in one final blast of tuning up. It worked well, as the Warriors pushed the lead to 11 points.

But then they got sloppy. It felt like the Warriors had accomplished what they set out to accomplish, and ran out of interest. Suddenly they were turning the ball over and taking bad shots, as the Kings scored eight straight points to cut the lead to three. Carter was killing them from beyond the arc as the Kings tied the game with seven minutes remaining … and then took the lead when Payton picked up a second technical foul (and subsequent ejection).

The Warriors trailed by six points just past the halfway mark, and with the outcome not mattering, Kerr let the subs run out the contest. They kept it close, but never close enough to take the lead, en route to a 124-118 defeat.

Podziemski was magnificent, and led the Warriors with 30 points on 9-for-15 shooting, while earning 10 free throws. Melton had 17 off the bench, while Curry (11), Porziņģis (11), Payton (10), and Horford (10) also scored in double figures. Curry wasn’t at his best, but it really did feel like he was just going through the warmups.

The Kings, meanwhile, had four different players hit the 20-point mark: Carter led the way with 29, followed by Raynaud with 23. Daeqwon Plowden and Nique Clifford each had 20. Carter, Raynaud, and Plowed each grabbed nine rebounds as well, as the Kings out-boarded the Dubs 58-43 … both a sign of their advantage inside, and the fact that Golden State missed more shots.

Perhaps the most notable thing to come from the night was the Portland Trail Blazers beating the LA Clippers. That means that the most likely scenario is that the Warriors face the Clippers in the first round of the play-in tournament.

And speaking of the Clippers, that’s also who the Dubs play in their season finale on Sunday, at 5:30 p.m. PT in Inglewood. We’ll see if the Warriors try to tune things up further in that game, or if they rest their key players so as not to give Ty Lue any additional intel.

The Phoenix Suns played their fifth game against the Lakers this season on Friday night, and it wasn’t much of a contest. Sure, the Suns were down 57-48 at the half, but the youth movement received its chance in the second half, and it wasn’t pretty. The team scored a grand total of 25 points in the second half.

You tip your hat to LeBron James. He played 32 minutes and went 10-of-16 from the field, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. He finished with 28 points and 12 assists, added six rebounds and four steals, and posted a +27 on the night. In a game the Lakers needed to help secure the fourth seed in the Western Conference, he delivered.

On the other side, the Suns leaned into youth and opportunity, and the returns were not great. Dillon Brooks led the team with 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Royce O’Neale added 11. Some of the numbers were rough. Ryan Dunn played 28 minutes and was a -39. Jamaree Bouyea logged 27 minutes, went 1-of-7 from the field, and finished at -33.

The loss does not impact the standings for Phoenix, but Portland’s win over the Clippers moves them into the eighth seed, which would line them up as the Suns’ Play-In opponent on Tuesday if things hold through Sunday. The Suns now sit at 44–37 on the season.

Game Flow

First Half

The Suns opened with a lineup of Collin Gillespie, Grayson Allen, Ryan Dunn, Dillon Brooks, and Mark Williams, with Devin Booker and Jalen Green both out as they get rest before the postseason. It was the man in his 23rd season at 41 years old who set the tone early for the Lakers. LeBron James scored 9 of their first 13 points as Los Angeles jumped out to an early first quarter lead.

Phoenix found some life on the glass. 9 of their first 14 points came off second-chance opportunities, turning four offensive rebounds into valuable buckets.

With 6:15 left in the first, Dillon Brooks picked up his second foul of the quarter on a Luke Kennard three-point attempt. Kennard hit the shot, and the play went under review for a reckless closeout. It was ruled a common foul, but Kennard still knocked down the free throw to complete the four-point play and push the Lakers ahead 21 to 14.

He stayed in the game, and the first players into the rotation were Jamaree Bouyea and Royce O’Neale, who checked in for Collin Gillespie and Grayson Allen. Brooks came out on the next Lakers possession after picking up his third foul, and Rasheer Fleming entered as a result.

The Suns soon found themselves down 15 in the first quarter, managing only 14 points of their own. It turned into a 13-0 run for the Lakers before rookie Rasheer Fleming stepped in and knocked down a three to stop the bleeding.

The offensive glass kept Phoenix afloat. They piled up 14 second-chance points on eight offensive rebounds, though that came with the reality that they were missing plenty of shots to create those opportunities. The Suns went 4-of-14 from beyond the arc in the first, while the Lakers caught fire, shooting 57.1% from the field.

After one, Los Angeles led 35-24.

The Lakers opened the second quarter a bit rusty, and the shots were not falling. The Suns kept chipping away, leaning on offensive rebounds and second-chance points to stay within reach.

With seven minutes left in the second, Phoenix had worked all the way back from a 16-point deficit to take a 36-35 lead after a three from Royce O’Neale. It was his second make from deep, and he sat at 4-of-8 from the field at that point.

Around that midpoint of the quarter, Dillon Brooks returned with three fouls to his name. He wasted little time, knocking down his first jumper after checking back in. And his offense kept rolling. Unfortunately, as the comeback was occurring, Grayson Allen left the bench for the locker room.

With 4:17 left in the second, Brooks picked up his fourth personal foul. Head coach Jordan Ott kept him on the floor. On the very next possession, the Suns were whistled for another foul, their 10th of the game. It went to Amir Coffey, who then picked up a technical after reacting to what felt like a ticky-tack call.

Old man LeBron helped close the quarter for the Lakers. He had eight in the second on 4-of-6 shooting and finished the half with 22. Luke Kennard added some support with 17 of his own.

For the Suns, Dillon Brooks and Royce O’Neale each had 10 points, and Oso Ighodaro pulled down seven rebounds off the bench. Phoenix controlled the glass, leading the rebounding battle 28-13, and they dominated second-chance points 21-6. The problem was everything else. The Suns turned it over 10 times, while the Lakers had only two. Both teams scored 24 in the second, and at the half, Los Angeles led 57-48.

Second Half

The third quarter opened, and a little over a minute in, Jordan Ott used his first challenge. It was successful, overturning an out-of-bounds call. The Suns turned the ball over on the inbounds as a result. Sigh.

It was still a choppy start for the Suns. Shots were not falling, and the rhythm was not there. They were putting pressure on the Lakers and getting to the free throw line, but those trips only went so far. Before long, they were back down 15 as the Lakers opened on a 10-4 run through the first 6 minutes of the quarter.

Bouyea and Dunn were out there, but the offense felt passive. Too much dribbling into defenders, then looking for outlets. The flow was not sharp, and it showed.

The scoring drought stretched nearly seven minutes into the third quarter, with the Suns unable to hit a field goal. They finally broke through on an Amir Coffey layup with 4:30 left in the period. At that point, it was only their seventh point of the quarter and their second made field goal. They sat at 2-of-8 from the field and 0-of-4 from beyond the arc.

This was the quarter where it started to slip away from the Suns. Young players were on the floor, and the confidence was not there. Rasheer Fleming backed down a defender, had a chance to go up and score with his physicality, but kicked it out instead. It turned into a fast break the other way for the Lakers. That theme kept showing up. The young guys were looking to pass instead of looking to score, and it allowed Los Angeles to stretch the lead.

The third quarter belonged to the Lakers, who outscored the Suns 24-16. Giving up 24 is manageable, but the offense for Phoenix went quiet. They shot 4-of-14 from the field and 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. The turnovers kept piling up as well, eight in the quarter, leading to nine points for the Lakers. Los Angeles also found success in the paint, scoring 18 of their 24 points inside.

After three, the Lakers led 81-64.

There was not much to take away from the Suns in the fourth quarter as the offense completely stalled. No one could generate anything, and the youth movement looked rough on that end. There was little structure, a lot of one and done possessions, and Koby Brea firing from deep without much success.

The numbers tell the story. The Suns scored nine points in the quarter, shooting 4-of-21 from the field and 1-of-12 from beyond the arc.

Up Next

One more for the books, my friends. The Suns play the Thunder in the regular season finale on Sunday. We’ll see you then, Bright Side.

The Lakers took down the Suns 101-73 on Friday night. They clinched home court in the first round of the playoffs thanks to the Rockets losing to the Wolves.

Rui Hachimura started things off for LA with an impressive reverse layup. LeBron James was cooking early for Los Angeles with three 3-pointers and three free throws after he was fouled from behind the arc. He was up to nine points. Mark Williams was leading Phoenix with four points.

At the 7:13 mark, the Lakers were up by three. 

Dillon Brooks got into early foul trouble with three. LeBron continued his aggressive play, pushing his point total to 14, and he had three assists, putting him in the 12,000-career-assists club. Luke Kennard connected with LeBron for an emphatic dunk that rocked the rim. 

LA was on a 13-0 scoring run. 

The Suns gained some life with two consecutive 3-pointers. Kennard responded with a 3-pointer for Los Angeles. At the end of the first, the purple and gold were up by 10. 

Royce O’Neale opened up the second period with a layup. The Lakers lost the high energy they had in the first quarter, allowing Phoenix to cut LA’s lead to four. Grayson Allen was now leading the Suns with eight points. 

Phoenix was beating Los Angeles on the offensive boards 11 to one.

O’Neale scored a quick four points that put the Suns up by one. Kennard stopped some of the bleeding with a midrange jumper. The Lakers picked up their energy, and their offense clicked again, leading to a 9-2 scoring run.

At the four-minute mark, LA was up by six. 

Dillon Brooks and O’Neale had a combined 20 points for the Suns. Brooks was up to four fouls. Los Angeles ended the half strong, thanks to six points from LeBron. He had 22 points in the half. At halftime, LA was up by nine. 

Jamaree Bouyea started the third period with a layup for Phoenix. Deandre Ayton responded on the other end with a dunk. Phoenix announced that Allen, who went to the locker room in the first half, was ruled out for the rest of the game with a left hamstring injury.

Both teams went on three-minute scoring droughts, but Hachimura ended LA’s with a 3-pointer. 

O’Neale converted on a free throw to give the Suns a point, but their scoring drought had hit six minutes. Amir Coffey stopped what ended up being a seven-minute scoring drought for Phoenix with a layup. 

A dunk by Oso Ighodaro forced a timeout by Los Angeles as their lead was now 11. Out of the break, Maxi Kleber was fouled and missed both free throws. On the other end, the Suns missed their shot attempt. 

Marcus Smart then scored four in a row. LeBron turned his jets on once more to give the Lakers their biggest lead of the night. 

Going into the fourth, LA was up by 17.

The final frame began with a dunk by Jarred Vanderbilt on an assist from LeBron. James also assisted on a baseline cutting dunk by Kleber. At the 6:19 mark, LeBron was subbed out, and the rest of the game was garbage time as Los Angeles cruised to victory.

Key Player Stats

LeBron finished with 28 points, six rebounds, 12 assists and four steals. Kennard ended with 19 points, three assists and three steals. Hachimura pitched in with 13 points, two rebounds and three assists. 

Ayton had 10 points with five rebounds. Smart notched six points with five rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Vanderbilt logged six points with seven rebounds.

The Lakers’ last game of the season will be Sunday against the Utah Jazz at 5:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.

Defense was optional in the Rockets’ Friday night matchup against the shorthanded Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite shooting 60.9 percent from the field and a career high 41 points from Amen Thompson, the Rockets were outscored by 33 points from the three-point line, only making 4-of-18 from distance, while allowing the Timberwolves to shoot 15-of-30. The Rockets dominated inside, posting a +22 points in the paint differential.

The Rockets also dominated the boards 49-38 and were a +6 in fast break points. The cliche of “win by the three, die by the three” came to fruition. The Rockets held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Wolves went on a 17-4 run. The Wolves made five threes in the final quarter to the Rockets one, and that was really the difference. For a Rockets team that was looking to take good habits into the playoffs and had everything to play for with the opportunity to move as high as the #3 seed in the West, the defensive effort was disappointing.

The loss dampens the shine on brilliant offensive performances from Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson. KD scored 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field, and he added 7 rebounds and 7 assists. He became the oldest player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in one season, at 37 years and 193 days old. Amen Thompson’s career high 41 points in 41 minutes to go along with 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals was just enough to make him a whopping +1 on the floor. That’s how bad the defense was in this game. The Timberwolves defense was not cause for the game film to be sent to Springfield in its own right. Many of the Rockets’ missed threes were wide open shots. Conversely, the Timberwolves seemed to make whether they were contested or not.

Wanting to find an eloquent and sophisticated way to describe what we all just witnessed, the best I can come up with is… this game was weird. When you look at the stats both individual and team, you find it hard to believe that the Rockets let this one slip. What makes it harder to swallow is the big picture, after the Denver Nuggets defeated the OKC Thunder, and the Lakers appear to be on their way to beating the Suns, it’s all but certain that the Rockets will finish the season in the 5th seed of the Western Conference.

Sunday night at 7:30 PM CST the Rockets will be looking to match their win total from last season at 52, against the Memphis Grizzlies, who are actively trying to lose games. Should the Rockets be locked into the five sees, coach Ime Udoka when asked stated that he will be resting players in that game. That being said its possible we just watched the last meaningful regular season game of the season. We will still be here at TDS covering the season finale with Game Preview, In-game discussion, and Game Recap.

It was Fan Appreciation Night in Salt Lake and boy, did the home team give the fans something to appreciate, as the Jazz beat down the shorthanded Grizzlies by 46. Two Jazz bench players recorded triple doubles, a feat unparalleled in living memory.

Kennedy Chandler – A-

Kennedy’s speed is reminiscent of Isaiah Collier, but what really impressed me tonight was his ball-handling. There were moments when his crossover moves left defenders in the dust. He recorded a double-double with 26 points and 10 assists, shooting an impressive 4-7 from 3. The only blot on his report card was at the free throw line, where he was a surprising 0-4.

Ace Bailey – A-

Ace also had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds, a lot of his scoring coming in the second half. He was active defensively, recording 3 steals and a block and had a number of hustle plays, with John Konchar being the primary beneficiary.

Cody Williams – C

Cody’s shot was off tonight, going 6-16 from the field and 2-6 from 3. There were also periods of the game when he seemed to disappear, something he cannot afford to do next season when he’ll be likely coming off the bench and will need to make an impact in limited minutes.

Blake Hinson – A

Blake did most of his damage tonight from inside the arc, scoring 18 of his team high 30 points driving to the basket. He shot 44% from 3 and also contributed in other ways with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Oscar Tshiebwe – A

Oscar had a monster game on the boards tonight with 22 rebounds. His push shot from the key has really come along and he looks to create opportunities for his teammates, dishing out 3 assists. If he doesn’t make the team next season, it won’t be because of lack of effort. He played hard to the final whistle tonight, blocking the Grizzles’ last shot of the game.

Bez Mbeng – A

Bez was the first one off the bench tonight and took full advantage of the opportunity, notching a triple-double with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. His defensive skills have been well reported, but tonight really showcased his playmaking ability and his activity around the basket. One of the plays of the night was Bez saving a ball from going out of bounds in the corner and then lobbing a perfect cross court pass to Cody for a 3.

John Konchar – A

Not to be outdone, John recorded his second triple-double in a row, with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, to go along with his 5 steals and 2 blocks. To say that John was all over the court is an understatement. He blocked passing lanes, leaked out on fast breaks and seemed to battle for every loose ball, all while negotiating his way through 3 early fouls. He did have the play of the game, with an over the shoulder pass to Blake for 3.

The Fans – A

On the last home game, on Fan Appreciation Night, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the energy the fans brought to the game. The last two ugly seasons would test the mettle of any fan, but they keep coming, keep giving their all, keep cheering on whichever Jazz players are on the court.

SACRAMENTO — There’s a reason why the Warriors dubbed this a dress rehearsal.

Rolling out the lineup they hope to use to escape from the play-in, nothing came easy for a group about as close to full strength as the Warriors hope to get heading into the postseason.

Steph Curry survived an early injury scare but was largely kept quiet for his second consecutive game, Kristaps Porzingis turned in one of his poorest shooting efforts of the season and Al Horford made little impact in limited minutes.

In theory, the debut of the three together should have guided Golden State to an easy win over one of the NBA’s worst teams, but it proved to be a struggle to put away the Kings in a 124-118 loss.

It was Kings guard Devin Carter who played a starring role with six 3-pointers for 29 points. The Warriors were led by two guards not named Curry: Brandin Podziemski with a career-best 30 points and De’Anthony Melton with 17 off the bench.

Curry was held to 11 points in 27 minutes and didn’t re-emerge after going into the tunnel midway through the fourth quarter. Porzingis connected on only four of 12 attempts from the field for 11 points and Horford failed to grab one rebound while scoring 10 points in 17 minutes.

What it means

The game provided coach Steve Kerr his first look at the team with Curry, Porzingis and Horford all healthy. Without the latter two on Tuesday, the Warriors struggled to put the Kings away at home, and despite possessing most of their missing puzzle pieces ran into trouble again.

Turning point

Whatever hopes the Warriors have for this postseason flashed before their eyes only minutes into the game when Carter blitzed Curry at halfcourt. He swiped the ball clean and sent Curry spinning to the ground, visibly shaken up.

All it amounted to, however, was a scare. 

Curry appeared to tweak the same leg that has kept him out of all but three games since Jan. 30. But after a timeout and some attention from Rick Celebrini, the head of their medical staff, Curry remained in the game. He confirmed afterward that it was his ankle, not his knee, that was affected.

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Carter converted a reverse layup on the opening possession of the second half to extend the Kings’ lead to 65-51, their second-largest of the game, but the Warriors went on to score the following 12 points and took an 89-82 advantage into the final period.

Sacramento mounted a 14-2 run to flip a 98-92 Golden State lead into a 106-100 advantage with 5:16 to play, and the Warriors played from behind the rest of the way.

MVP: Brandin Podziemski

For the anticipation behind the debut of Curry, Horford and Porzingis together, the Warriors’ best player was the only one to play all of their 81 games so far.

Podziemski sank a free throw in the final seconds to reach 30 points for the first time in his career.

Stat of the game: 42

In their 81st game of the season, the Warriors used their 42nd different starting lineup.

With Curry, Porzingis and Horford all healthy at the same time for the first time all year, Kerr said before tipoff, “We’ve been looking forward to this.” He brought Horford off the bench and started Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos and Draymond Green alongside Curry and Porzingis.

They will only have one more dress rehearsal before the play-in, and the first didn’t go so well.

Still, there’s a reason why Kerr said the grouping is so “enticing” to Golden State.

“Lot of versatility, ball handling, shooting,” Kerr said. “Obviously Steph negates a lot of spacing issues, but with the spacing that we will have with Kristaps, there’s the potential that it could open things up for Steph, for BP, for Gui and his driving.”

Up next

Golden State gets one more tuneup Sunday against the Clippers, with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m. PT inside the Intuit Dome. After Los Angeles fell to the Blazers in Portland on Friday, the Clippers would be in line to host Golden State in the 9/10 play-in game if the Blazers beat the Kings on Sunday.

Game Story

On paper, this was a Friday evening prime time matchup, literally broadcasted on Prime.

When the two teams met two weeks ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves made the most dramatic overtime comeback in NBA history. Anthony Edwards wasn’t even active for that game, but he suited up today for the first time after missing 10 of the last 12 games. The Wolves may have been locked into the sixth seed in the Western Conference standings, but the Houston Rockets sat just above them at the fifth seed still with an opportunity to move up before the end of the season.

But then came the injury report.

Minnesota smartly opted to rest Naz Reid for the first time, while keeping Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Bones Hyland in street clothes as well. Wolves fans hoping to avoid a postseason date with the Denver Nuggets were liking shadow-rooting for a Minnesota loss, as it would keep the dream alive for a different first round matchup*.

_{(*The Nuggets ultimately won their game midway through this Wolves game, eliminating the Rockets chances at the three seed.)}

Back to the actual game at hand.

Kyle Anderson and Joan Beringer got the nod in the starting lineup and immediately made their presence known. The 32-year-old veteran, Anderson, dinked and dunked in seven first quarter points. Meanwhile, the 19-year-old rookie impressed with two big slams early, including snatching away a Rockets sidelines inbounds pass before traveling throwing in two of his six first quarter points.

Edwards was understandably rusty on both ends of the court early, going zero for three in his opening shift. However, one teammate who wasn’t cold was Terrence Shannon Jr. Fresh off a career-high 33-point performance, Shannon continued on this heater by swishing all three of his treys. The Wolves were laying waste to the Rockets defense, converting on 57% of their first half field goal attempts.

Unfortunately, Houston scored on 68% of their own looks.

Kevin Durant was doing what Kevin Durant does. The two-time Finals MVP was just having shooting practice, knocking in shots over Jaden McDaniels over and over. His 17-point first quarter was only outshined by Amen Thompson, who could’ve been mistaken as DeMar DeRozan tonight based on the amount of mid-range jumpers he was making. Thompson led the Rockets with 24 first half points of his own, on his way to a career-high 41 points on 17 of 22 shots.

The lack of defense from both clubs made for some riveting back-and-forth action. Neither team got more than two possessions ahead of the other in the first half. In the second half, Houston looked like were going to be the first team to seize control of the game. They built up a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter thanks to Minnesota’s soft interior defense and typical foul issues.

Enter: Anthony Edwards.

Outside of a springy dunk over Jabari Smith in the first half, Edwards only had seven points on two for six shooting. He missed his first two attempts in the third quarter, but then uncorked a flurry of jumpers and letting any Rockets defender know about it. Things were getting spicy, as Edwards notched a 12-point quarter to match Durant’s scoring efforts.

Edwards was still on a minutes restrictions, so it looked like Houston were in prime position to pump their lead back up against Minnesota’s second line. Unfortunately for the home team, as they have all season, they had a complete meltdown to start the fourth. They immediately committed three straight non-shooting fouls in the first minute, muting their defensive intensity.

Donte DiVincenzo took advantage, attacking Alperen Şengün and chipping in points in a row for Minnesota. Mike Conley also canned his third triple in as many attempts. McDaniels painted a defensive masterpiece all in one possession, stripping Reed Sheppard, blocking Jabari Smith, then corralling the rebound. But the player who stood out the most was Shannon, who contributing nine of his team-high 23 points in the quarter as well.

You already know that a poster dunk was part of it.

This was all just a setup for the final clutch time minutes of the game. Edwards returned to the game with 4:02 remaining and his team sporting a nine-point lead. Şengün, Durant, and Thompson led a swift 8-2 run to pull within just five points with still over two minutes remaining. Edwards stared down one of his favorite teammates of all-time, Josh Okogie, and went one-on-one against him. After bobbling the ball, he was called for an offensive push-off foul. Durant split a pair of free throws on the other end, giving Edwards another shot at Okogie.

This time, Edwards reminded us all who he was.

When you zoom out and look at this game, consider the following:

• Minnesota was without several key starters and rotation players
• Edwards was on a minutes restrictions
• Minnesota had nothing to play for (standings wise).
• Houston had something to play for (standings wise).
• Houston was playing at home
• Houston was at full-strength (minus Fred VanVleet)
• Houston was winners of eight in a row, with their last lost an all-time blunder against Minnesota
• Houston shot 60.9% from the field thanks to 86 paint points
• Houston shot and made more free throws than Minnesota

Yet the Timberwolves won by multiple possessions. It’s just one game, but it might be fair to ponder if the Wolves are indeed back.

Box Score

Comment of the Night

Up Next

Minnesota packs their bags and heads back home for the final game of the season. They play host to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, April 12, at 5:30 PM CT, but more importantly, this is the game that Kevin Garnett returns to Target Center. If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, they’re likely going to be hard to find. Will we get the return of the “KG Cam?“

This specific game will have no impact on the standings and playoff seedings. The Pelicans just got crushed by the Celtics while the Wolves will likely want no more than one half of action for their regular rotation players. This game will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network.

Highlights