Stephen Curry on Wednesday night sank seven three-pointers while scoring 35 points, holding every fan at Intuit Dome in his thrall with another dazzling display of his unmatched shooting skill, as the Golden State Warriors rallied to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 and stay alive in the NBA play-in tournament.
In the fourth quarter of the elimination game, Draymond Green bodied up to Kawhi Leonard and shut down one of the greatest scorers of their generation.
Curry and Green have already done it all and won it all during their 14 years and four championships together, and today travel to the Phoenix Suns after a trying regular season that ended with Golden State sitting eight games below .500 and in 10th place in the Western Conference.
Photo: AFP
The winners of that game would secure the Western Conference eighth seed and a first-round series against top-seeded reigning champions the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The style and substance of their comeback victory on Wednesday indelibly evoked the brilliance of the Warriors’ golden era. The few remaining men who have been around for the whole ride were thrilled to travel back in time.
“For one night, we’re us. We’re champions again,” coach Steve Kerr said. “And 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.”
Curry put it even more simply: “That’s what you live for right there.”
Golden State overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter behind Curry, who scored 27 points in a dominant second half. While he took care of the offense, Green took the defensive lead with a smothering effort against Leonard, who could not score in the fourth quarter until the Clippers were cooked.
The Warriors also got stellar contributions from two newcomers. Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists with an exciting series of big plays — and 39-year-old Al Horford shocked the entire arena when he hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter of just his third game since missing a month with a strained right calf.
Curry broke a tie with his final three-pointer, falling into the front row of Clippers fans while the ball pierced the net with 50 seconds left.
The superstar was playing just his fifth game since returning from a 27-game absence with a knee injury, and he demonstrated exactly why he rejected any notion that he should shut himself down for the summer.
“This is what you work all year for, all summer, off-season,” Curry said. “We’re not guaranteed a [playoff] series yet, but these nights make everything worth it, because you feel the anxiety of having to perform when the lights are bright, do-or-die game... Considering how our season has gone, all the injuries and all that, for us to play the way we did tonight was special.”
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 31 points from Tyrese Maxey, held off the Orlando Magic 109-97 to punch their playoff ticket, booking a first-round meeting with the Boston Celtics.
Maxey scored 31 points and five Philadelphia players scored in double figures as the Sixers overcame the absence of star big man Joel Embiid — who made a surprise appearance watching from the bench as he recovers from an appendectomy.
“Man, we played hard as hell,” Maxey said. “Everybody who stepped on the floor contributed tonight.”
Separately, the NBA said that the Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball should have been ejected on Tuesday for an uncalled flagrant foul when he reached out and tugged on the ankle of the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo, causing a back injury that forced Adebayo out of the play-in tournament game.
The league said Ball made “unnecessary and reckless contact” with Adebayo. It fined Ball US$60,000 for the foul and for using a profanity in an interview, but he remains eligible to play in the Hornets’ elimination game tonight against the Orlando Magic.
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