jalen green scored 36 points, Devin Booker 20 added, and phoenix sun closed down Stephen Curry and this Golden State Warriors, win 111-96 Friday night in the NBA play-in tournament.
The Suns clinched the 8th seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will face the defending NBA champions oklahoma city thunder in Game 1 on Sunday. The Warriors’ season is over.
Green shot 14 of 20 from the field, including 8 of 14 on 3-pointers. Jordan Goodwin He had 19 points and nine rebounds and was a threat on defense with six steals.
The game proved to be a bit of a chore for Green after he struggled against the Warriors in last year’s playoffs when he was with Houston Rockets. He averaged only 13.3 points in the seven-game series, shooting 37% from the field.
“I remember what they did last year… there’s a lesson in every situation,” Green said. “It’s never a failure. You always come back. So I definitely brought some of that energy from last year into tonight’s game, and we took advantage of it. I’m happy with that.”
Booker and Golden States draymond green Each was assessed a technical foul and ejected at the end of the fourth quarter after exchanging words several times.
The 38-year-old Curry couldn’t get many clean looks and finished with 17 points on 4-of-16 shooting. Brandin Podziemski Led the Warriors with 23 points.
Phoenix led by five at the break and took a 69-53 lead after a fast break layup with 5:12 remaining in the third. royce o’neal. The score was 85–72 with 10:12 remaining.
There was reason to believe that the lead was not safe. Phoenix lost in the fourth quarter and gave up a lead of 11 points. portland Tuesday night, as Golden State battled back from a 13-point fourth-quarter hole to beat LA Clippers Wednesday night, leading to a winner-take-all matchup on Friday.
“Obviously, Tuesday night was emotional for everybody with how it ended, but I think that’s what we’ve done all year,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said. “I think the group that we have in that locker room has a lot of resiliency and wants to do things different. And that’s what we’ve emphasized from the beginning. Sometimes the road isn’t always the one you choose … or the one most traveled. Sometimes, it’s the one least traveled. So we found our way. Now, it’s onto the next thing.”
The Warriors looked like they might have another comeback after Curry hit a 3-pointer that cut the margin to 85-78 with 9:30 left. But the Suns responded by scoring the next seven points.
The Suns avoided becoming the first team to lose both play-in tournament games on their home field. The current format was established in 2021.
“These guys want to be in that type of environment,” Ott said. “When you find that sweet spot, you want to hang on to it. We’re in that spot. Perfect timing, perfect timing to make all this happen and then see the results. … Know it’s a quick turnaround on Sunday, know what opponent we’re going against, but we’re excited. We’re excited to get this thing going.”
of the golden state kristaps porzingis Played despite sore right ankle due to injury Wednesday against the Clippers. The 7-foot-3 center played just 15 minutes and finished with 11 points.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
