The Warriors trailed by 13 points in the fourth quarter and seemed to be over but a tactical shift from the Warriors produced a blitz; Yankee Scores reports the spark behind the stunning comeback.
Stephen Curry scored 27 of his 35 points in the second half, Al Horford scored four 3-pointers at the start of the electrifying fourth-quarter comeback of Golden State, and the Warriors moved on in the NBA play-in tournament with a 126-121 win over the LA Clippers on Wednesday night.
Curry’s Return to Greatness
The 10th-seeded Warriors, who wiped a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit, scored 50.4 seconds to play a tie on the seventh 3-pointer by Curry.
Golden State ended the game on a 16-6 spurt. Kawhi Leonard did not score any points in the fourth until the last 16 seconds.
After this time-defying rally, Curry, Draymond Green and the postseason-experienced Warriors are just a win away another playoff spot, despite the 37-45 regular season record and season-ending injury to Jimmy Butler in January.
Warriors INCREDIBLE COMEBACK in the fourth to beat Clippers in Play-In 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/zaUh91xdnJ
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 16, 2026
The Warriors will be travelling to Phoenix on Friday with the winner proceeding to the first round against defending champion Oklahoma City.
Leonard had 21 points in the Clippers who failed to make the playoffs, the first season in their 15 winning seasons in a row, and the third season overall. Bennedict Mathurin scored Los Angeles with 23 points and Darius Garland (in foul trouble) scored 21 points and eight assists.
The Clippers was ahead 98-85 with 9:53 remaining, but the 38-year-old Curry took charge of Golden State in its frenzied rally with Kristaps Porzingis (20 points) and the 39-year-old Horford.
Curry gave Golden State a vintage second-half display, coming back five games prior, only five games after a 27-game absence due to a knee injury. He made 16 points in six minutes of the third quarter to keep the Warriors in it as the Clippers almost pulled away.
When Horford struck three 3-pointers in the last quarter, the stretch in the fourth quarter, Gui Santos layup with 2:45 to play reduced the lead of the Clips to 115-114. Horford’s fourth 3-pointer put the Warriors up 117-115 with 2:12 left.
Clippers’ Historic Collapse
The Clippers came back to a disorganized 6-21 start to end 42-40 in this one-time-woebegone franchise 15 th winning season in a row, the longest running winning streak in NBA history. But two late-season losses to Portland dropped Los Angeles to the No. 9 seed, requiring the Clips to get two play-in victories instead of one to make the playoffs.
Having made only eight points out of 2-for-9 shooting in the first half, Curry had 16 points and made 3-pointers in six frenzied minutes of the third quarter.
Referee Ben Taylor was injured and had to take a break at halftime. Sean Corbin took the place of him as an alternate referee.
