Steph Curry Leads Warriors Past Clippers in NBA Play-In Triumph
Stephen Curry hit a 30-foot three with 51 seconds remaining to seal a comeback. The shot capped a 14-2 closing run that lifted Golden State past the LA Clippers, 126-121. The game was Wednesday’s 9-10 NBA Play-In contest at the Intuit Dome.
Curry finished with 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting. He was 7 of 12 from deep. He briefly left the bench in the first quarter with an apparent injury.
Late surge overturns Clippers lead
The Clippers carried a 115-110 lead late in the fourth quarter. They had been ahead by as many as 13 points. Golden State’s rally erased that cushion and flipped the momentum.
Curry scored 16 of his 35 points in the third quarter to keep the Warriors close. The big three-pointer with under a minute remaining proved decisive.
Porziņģis delivers key performance
Kristaps Porziņģis produced his best game in a Warriors uniform. He finished with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes.
Porziņģis arrived in a trade from the Atlanta Hawks before the February deadline. The Warriors sent Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield in that deal.
He had struggled with consistency and health since joining Golden State. It took 15 games, but he showed the impact the team expected.
Supporting contributions
Al Horford drilled four fourth-quarter threes and totaled 14 points. Those shots helped swing the finish in Golden State’s favor. The team found critical support around Curry late in the game.
Clippers fall short again
The loss marks the Clippers’ first missed postseason in four years. It also continues a pattern of blown, late leads in Play-In situations.
The Clippers led by 13 with 9:53 remaining. Kawhi Leonard had only 7:45 of time off the floor during that stretch, and the team was outscored by 11 while he rested.
The team’s secondary star, Darius Garland, was targeted and eventually fouled out after picking up his fifth foul in the third quarter. He logged 31:08, and the Clippers were outscored by nine with him on the floor.
Their season included a difficult November stretch, losing 13 of 15 games. That run of poor form made this ending feel familiar to observers.
What comes next
The Warriors advance to face the Phoenix Suns on Friday for the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed. The winner of that game will meet the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
Writers Law Murray and Nick Friedell shared immediate takeaways with Filmogaz.com. Their notes emphasized late-game execution and roster fit as decisive factors.
