The two players with more Championship DNA than anyone else in the league proved just how valuable it can be on Tuesday, shining in the closing minutes of the Golden State Warriors 126-121 win over the Los Angeles Clippers to avoid elimination in the first round of the NBA Play-In Tournament.
After trailing by as many 13 points in the fourth, Steph Curry hit a 3-pointer while falling into the crowd to put the Warriors ahead for good with just over 50 seconds remaining. Then, Draymond Green sealed the comeback effort with a pair of clutch steals that sent the Clippers packing and added another classic to the Rolodex of the two greatest players in modern franchise history.
STEPH CURRY GIVES THE WARRIORS THE LEAD!
GSW 120
LAC 117
50.4 TO PLAY IN A MUST-WIN GAME pic.twitter.com/HgYTHtLlOp
— NBA (@NBA) April 16, 2026
The Warriors entered the game as considerable underdogs both officially and sentimentally, closing at +5.5 against a Clippers team that won 36 of their final 55 regular season games to make the playoffs after a 6-21 start. It certainly seemed like a fair spread, especially given the fact that Curry just recently returned from a two month absence and the Warriors had won just 35 games overall during their regular season campaign.
Staying Alive
When Curry briefly went to the locker room with an undisclosed injury late in the first quarter, it seemed for a moment like the Clippers were going to cruise with more ease than originally presumed. However, Golden State’s midseason acquisition Kristaps Porzingis picked the right time to make his presence felt in that moment and helped keep the Warriors in a competitive position when Curry eventually did return despite the unfortunate break to start.
With just under 10 minutes remaining in the contest, the Clippers win probability peaked at 97.6 percent and another Tyronn Lue playoff collapse felt unlikely—at least for the evening. But that championship DNA that Curry and Green have brought to the Bay Area for so long couldn’t have appeared at a better (or worse) time to spoil those prospects, as the Warriors closed the game on a 16-2 run and made 8-of-11 attempts from 3-point range in the fourth quarter to steal the game.
The Warriors turned it up in the 4th quarter
Golden State erased a 13-point deficit after scoring 43 points in the fourth quarter, their most in the fourth since March 31, 2023. pic.twitter.com/fKDSJ90szl
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) April 16, 2026
“I’ve been watching (Steph and Draymond) for 12 years,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “You know, there’s a reason we have four championships, and it’s the competitiveness, the heart, the will. it’s been such a tough year. But to just show what they’re made of, what we’re made of
“With all the wins we’ve ever had here, a lot of them with a lot more at stake, this is right up there. Just because of where we are and our age and the decline of our performance this year, the injuries. It was just a a beautiful display of competitive will.”
The Warriors will now head to Phoenix to face the Suns with the No. 8 seed in the playoffs on the line, with the winner advancing to face a historically daunting 64-win Oklahoma City Thunder squad.
76ers Earn No. 7 Seed
Before Tuesday’s main event stunner between the Clippers and Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers secured the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with a thorough 109-97 win over the Orlando Magic at XFinity Mobile Arena.
Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 31 points on 11-of-25 shooting, while Kelly Oubre and rookie standout VJ Edgecombe added 19 points apiece to secure a proper postseason position for the franchise after a turbulent stretch the past few seasons. Paul George chipped in 16 points as well, making 6-of-16 attempts from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc while collecting five rebounds and dishing out five assists.
Maxey and company’s offensive effort allowed the 76ers to overcome a torrid night from Orlando’s Desmond Bane, who poured in 34 points on 10-of 16 shooting overall (4-of-6 from 3) and an additional 18 points from Paolo Banchero. However, Bane and Banchero aside, Orlando couldn’t produce another 15 point scorer and struggled to find any offensive rhythm as the game progressed.
TYRESE MAXEY TONIGHT:
31 POINTS
6 ASSISTS
2 REBOUNDS
42 MINUTES pic.twitter.com/2PB7xdbJlN
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 16, 2026
“I told the guys I’m proud of them,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “There’s many times this year that I’ve told them I’m proud of them for continuing to pick themselves up and keep playing, right? This was this was another example tonight with some stakes and some pressure. I think we played extremely hard. I thought we made a lot of winning plays.”
The 76ers advance to face the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in the first round, marking the first time since 2023 that the two storied rivals will meet in the postseason.
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