The Clippers’ postseason positioning rests with one game, one last chance, one final opportunity to land a coveted top-six seed.
And if they miss, if they lose to their regular-season finale on Sunday, the Clippers would be staring at a spot in the Play-In Tournament, where the Nos. 7-10 teams battle for the final two seeds in the tightly congested Western Conference.
All that stands in their way are the Golden State Warriors.
“High stakes, huh?” Clippers center Ivica Zubac said to reporters after Friday’s one-point victory against the Sacramento Kings.
“It’s been like that forever. Imagine if we didn’t win all these games.”
Both teams will be battling for one of the six top spots in Sunday’s matinee match-up at the Chase Center. The Clippers (49-32) will enter the game in fifth place, one game ahead of the Warriors (48-33).
“When you win 49 games and don’t win Sunday … we just got to keep competing, one game at a time,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “It is what it is. You never think you are going to win 49 games and still be in the Play-In, but you know, that’s what it is.”
The Stephen Curry-led Warriors need a victory to stay to land the No. 6 spot. A loss to the Clippers, combined with victories by the Minnesota Timberwolves (vs. Utah Jazz) and Memphis Grizzlies (vs. Dallas Mavericks), would drop the Warriors to No. 7 and one of four teams that start the Play-In Tournament on Tuesday.
The Clippers have had the edge on the Warriors this season, winning all three of their previous matchups without Leonard in the lineup. Leonard missed the first 34 games because of lingering knee issues, and the teams played three times early in the season.
Since his return on Jan. 4, Leonard has looked like the Leonard of old. He is averaging 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals. He is shooting 49.3% from the field and 40.0% from 3-point range.
Curry said he will be ready to go for the Golden State Warriors’ crucial regular-season finale against the Clippers after a brief injury scare on Friday night. He aggravated a previous thumb injury in the first quarter of Friday’s victory against the Portland Trail Blazers. The team said the X-rays came back negative.
“It should be like a Game 7 kind of vibe,” Curry, the four-time NBA champion, said of Sunday’s showdown against the Clippers. “You win and you control your destiny on a guaranteed playoff series. If you lose, you roll the dice.”
Leonard tempered the view of the crucial game.
“It’s basketball. The outcome is going to tell what happens,” Leonard said after winning game No. 81. “So, it’s just going out and playing, that’s all you can do. Play and have fun.
“Everybody wants to win coming down the stretch.”