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Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors looks on during the game against the Sacramento Kings on April 10, 2026. [AFP]
Golden State star Stephen Curry scored the go-ahead three-pointer with 50 seconds left as the Warriors rallied to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 and stay alive in the NBA play-in on Wednesday.
Curry, a four-time NBA champion who missed 27 games from February to early April with a nagging knee injury, shook off a slow first half to finish with 35 points.
He connected on seven of 12 three-point attempts to help the Warriors, who trailed most of the way, battle back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket during the game against the Sacramento Kings on April 10, 2026. [AFP]
His last three-pointer put the Warriors up 120-117, and they held on to knock Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers out of the postseason.
The Warriors, who finished the regular season 10th in the Western Conference, will have to win one more game to reach the playoffs proper when they face the Phoenix Suns on Friday.
The winner of that game will secure the Western Conference eighth seed and a first-round series against the top-seeded reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Curry said the key in Phoenix will once again be “resiliency.”
“These win-or-go-home scenarios, we think we know the team, but you’ve got to be able to withstand the runs and stay in it emotionally.
“It was back and forth the whole game, and then we got over the hump the last three minutes.”
Gui Santos and Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points apiece for the Warriors and Al Horford made four three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 points to lead the Clippers. Leonard and Darius Garland scored 21 points each, but Leonard was held to just two points in the final period.
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.