The Golden State Warriors trailed by 13 in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night. Their season was minutes from ending at Intuit Dome. Then they remembered who they are.
Stephen Curry scored 35 points including a go-ahead stepback three with 50.4 seconds left. Al Horford hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter alone. Draymond Green held Kawhi Leonard scoreless in the fourth until the final 16 seconds. Golden State closed the game on a 16-6 run and walked out of Inglewood with a 126-121 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Warriors advance to face the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Win that and a first-round series against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder awaits.
After the game, Steve Kerr had plenty to say.
What Kerr Said After the Win
GettySteph Curry and Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors have won four NBA championships together.
Kerr did not hold back when addressing what Curry’s performance meant in the context of everything this season has asked of him.
“This is why Steph came back,” Kerr said, banging the table. “Everyone out there who thought Steph should take the rest of the year off, this is what he does.”
He was equally emphatic about Green, who was everywhere defensively down the stretch, finishing with four steals and making two crucial late turnovers to seal the win.
“He’s the best defender I’ve ever seen in my life,” Kerr said of Green. “It’s just insane what he does out there.”
His most striking comment, though, was the one that captured exactly what this win felt like inside the Warriors’ locker room.
“For one night, we’re us,” Kerr said. “We’re champions again. I know that that may sound crazy to everybody out there. It’s a Play-In game. I don’t care.”
The words landed with the weight of a franchise that knows what it feels like to win at the highest level. This team has been through too much this season to let one statement feel over the top.
How the Warriors Did It
GettyStephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
Curry was quiet in the first half, managing just eight points on 2-of-9 shooting as the Clippers built a 61-53 lead at halftime. What followed in the third quarter was a reminder of why he fought to come back from a 27-game absence.
He scored 16 points in a six-minute stretch, connecting on three three-pointers and refusing to let the deficit grow. The Clippers still led entering the fourth, but the Warriors were alive.
Horford took it from there. The 39-year-old hit three consecutive three-pointers to drag Golden State back into the game, then added a fourth to give the Warriors their first lead of the second half at 117-115. Gui Santos finished with 20 points and a game-high plus-16. Kristaps Porzingis delivered his best performance in a Warriors uniform with 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
After the Clippers tied it at 117, Curry and Green ran a two-man game. Green fed Curry the ball, Curry stepped back from 29 feet, and buried the go-ahead three. He turned and roared. The building fell silent.
Green then stole the ball from Leonard twice in the closing seconds to put the result beyond doubt.
Final Word for the Warriors
This was not supposed to happen. A 37-45 team, missing Jimmy Butler, erasing a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit in an elimination game on the road.
It happened because of Curry. It happened because of Green. Because Kerr never stopped believing.
Friday against Phoenix is next. The Warriors are not done yet.
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