Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts tagged as “Play-in”

Suns oust Warriors in the Final Game of the Play-In (111–96)

April 18, 2026

The Phoenix Suns secured the final playoff spot in the Western Conference on Friday night, defeating the Golden State Warriors 111–96 in a winner-take-all play-in tournament finale. Led by a stellar performance from Jalen Green, who exploded for 36 points and eight three-pointers, the Suns clinched the No. 8 seed and a first-round date with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Phoenix dominated early, jumping to an 18-point lead in the first quarter. While the Warriors clawed back to within five points by halftime, the Suns’ defense proved too much. Stephen Curry was held to just 17 points on 4-of-16 shooting as the Suns’ backcourt harassed him all night. Devin Booker contributed 20 points before being ejected late in the fourth quarter following a heated exchange with Draymond Green.

The loss ends Warriors’ season, while the Suns head into the postseason and will face the OKC Thunder in the 1st round of the Playoffs.

Warriors move past Clippers lead by Horford, Curry and Green (126-121)

April 16, 2026

The Golden State Warriors completed a stunning 126–121 comeback victory over the LA Clippers in Wednesday’s high-stakes play-in tournament. Trailing by 13 in the fourth quarter, the Warriors ignited a 16–6 closing run and held Kawhi Leonard scoreless until the final 16 seconds of the game.

Steph Curry was sensational, scoring 35 points on 7-of-12 shooting from deep, becoming the oldest point guard in NBA history to record a 35-point game. While Curry provided the spark, Draymond Green anchored the defense with 3 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 steals—two of which came in the final frame. Green spearheaded a physical team effort that neutralized Leonard for nearly the entire quarter. Al Horford added 14 points, including three consecutive clutch triples down the stretch. This win keeps Golden State’s season alive; they now travel to Phoenix for a do-or-die matchup against the Suns for the 8th seed and face the defending champion Oklahoma City in the first round.

Game highlights;

Mavs routs Kings behind hot shooting from Klay Thompson (120 – 106)

April 17, 2025

Kings are the favorite to win this contest but 4-time champs Klay Thompson had other things in mind, as he helped the Mavs advance to the play-in tournament earning a shot at the 8th spot of the West Playoffs. They will face Memphis Grizzlies Friday night.

It was a hot shooting night for Thompson, shooting 8-of-11 from the field, making 5 three-points in seven shots. Klay Thompson scored 23 points and 5 rebounds, while Anthony Davis lead the team with 27 points and 9 rebounds. Even without Kyrie Irving, Dallas got a lot of help from the team with P.J. Washington and Brandon Williams scoring 17 points, apiece, while Dante Exum added 11 points and 6 assists.

Kings kept the game close in the 1st quarter but in the Mavs broke the game open in the 2nd quarter with Klay leading the way. DeMar DeRozan lead the Kings with 33 points and 7 rebounds, followed by Zach LaVine with 20 points and 9 assists. Domantas Sabonis had another double-double game with 11 points and 13 rebounds, with 5 assists and 2 blocks.

The Dallas Mavericks will go to Memphis Friday night to secure the 8th seed in the 1st Round of the West Playoffs and face the OKC Thunders.

NBA Play-in Tournament now Set

April 14, 2025

Now that the regular season is over, we now have the complete picture for this year’s NBA Play-in Tournament.

EAST

  • Game 1 – Orlando Magic (7) versus Atlanta Hawks (8)
  • Game 2 – Chicago Bulls (9) versus Miami Heat (10)

The winner in Game 1 will be the 7th seed and will face the Boston Celtics. The losing team will face the winner of Game 2 to play for the 8th seed and will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1st round of the Playoffs.

WEST

  • Game 1 – Golden State Warriors (7) versus Memphis Grizzlies (8)
  • Game 2 – Sacramento Kings (9) versus Dallas Mavericks (10)

The winner in Game 1 will be the 7th seed and will face the Houston Rockets, while the losing team will face the winner of Game 2 to play for the 8th seed and will face the Oklahoma Thunders in the 1st round of the Playoffs.

The NBA Play-in tournament starts this Wednesday, April 16th.

Atlanta Hawks upsets Miami Heat to secure East 7th seed

April 12, 2023

The Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks faced off in a thrilling play-in game on Tuesday night, with a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs on the line. The Hawks, led by their new coach Quin Snyder, who took over the team last February, showed their resilience and determination as they defeated the Miami Heat to secure a 116-105 victory.

The Heat, who were the defending conference champions, struggled to contain the Hawks’ dynamic duo of Trae Young and Clint Capela. Young, who averaged 26.2 points and 10.2 assists per game in the regular season, scored 25 points and dished out 7 assists in the win. Capela, who is top 7 in rebounding with 11.0 per game, dominated the paint with 21 rebounds, two blocks and 4 points.

The Hawks also got contributions from their supporting cast, as Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 14 points, John Collins added 10 points and four rebounds, and Dejounte Murray chipped in with 18 points, 6 assists and five rebounds. The Hawks shot 46% from the field and 24.4% from three-point range, while holding the Heat to 42.9% and 32.4%, respectively.

The Heat were led by Jimmy Butler, who had 21 points, four rebounds and 9 assists. Bam Adebayo contributed with 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Tyler Herro scored 26 points and two steals. The Heat were missing Victor Oladipo, who only played for just 9 mins and made just one assist.

The Hawks will now face the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, starting on Saturday. The Heat will face the loser between the Toronto and Chicago game this Thursday.

Lakers beats Timberwolves (102 – 108) in OT to take West 7th Seed

April 12, 2023

Lakers survives Timberwolves in a thrilling Play-in tournament that went overtime. The win will give the Lakers the 7th seed in the Western conference. To keep their hopes alive to be the NBA Champions, LA Lakers will face the Memphis Grizzlies, who are the 2nd seed in the West in the 1st round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

Min. Timberwolves are without Rudy Gobert who was suspended for punching teammate Kyle Anderson during Minnesota’s regular-season finale against the NO Pelicans, while Jaden McDaniels is out indefinitely with a broken hand after punching a wall during the same gamae against the Pelicans.

On the Lakers win at NBA.Com – LAKERS OUTLAST WOLVES 108-102 IN OT, ADVANCE TO FACE MEMPHIS.