An all-time great game with an awful result.
The playoffs unofficially started for the Golden State Warriors on Sunday afternoon, when they hosted the LA Clippers for the final game of the regular season, in a contest with massive playoff implications. What followed was one of the most thrilling regular season basketball games we’ve ever seen.
But thrilling means heartbreak for one team and, unfortunately, the Warriors were that team on Sunday, losing 121-119 in overtime, in a game that was drama through and through.
With the loss, the Warriors miss out on a guaranteed playoff spot, as well as a made-for-TV first-round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, they’ll host a play-in tournament game on Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies, with the seventh seed — and a first-round date with the Houston Rockets — on the line.
Sunday’s game was not just dramatic, but filled with superstar performances. Steph Curry overcame Friday’s thumb injury to score 36 points and make seven threes, while Jimmy Butler III had 30 points and nine assists. But they were slightly outplayed by the star duo opposite them, as James Harden dropped in 39 points with 10 assists, while Kawhi Leonard had an extremely efficient 33 points; for good measure, Ivica Zubac dominated the paint with 22 points and 17 rebounds. It also represented a shift to playoff importance, with both coaches tightening their rotations: each team played just nine players, with neither Jonathan Kuminga nor Gui Santos taking the court for the Dubs.
So close, but so far.
Things started very well for the Warriors. After falling behind 12-6, they kicked things into overdrive. They were moving nonstop on offense, while playing extremely active defense. Even with Zubac controlling the game inside, the Warriors were turning the game in their favor. They flipped an LA two-for-one, forcing Harden into a missed shot, which led to a Butler and-one, and then grabbed a steal that led to a Brandin Podziemski transition layup, giving them a 33-25 lead after the first.
That gave them a boost of energy and confidence that they carried into the second quarter. Their defense was spectacular, and they were winning the non-Curry minutes thanks to Butler absolutely bullying Bogdan Bogdanović (which was crucial since they were losing the Curry minutes). They pushed the lead to double-digits, but the Clippers came roaring back. A 7-0 LA run pulled the Clippers within four just past the halfway mark, and with 2:30 left Harden dropped in a floater that capped a 16-4 run, and gave LA the lead.
The Warriors tried to steal the momentum and control back late, but the Clippers had a flurry in them, with a trio of threes in the final minute, including a very deep Norman Powell buzzer-beater that sent LA to the locker room with a 60-58 lead.
But the drama was only just getting started. The defense went back into overdrive to start the second half, as Golden State was making life difficult for LA. Draymond Green drilled a three to punctuate a 7-0 run that returned the lead to the Warriors about four minutes in, and then the back-and-forth battle really began. Harden was making shot after shot, and looking like his vintage self, while Butler was dominating, especially after Curry went to the bench. When the buzzer rang to end the third, with the Clippers leading 82-81, it was clear that the game would come down to the wire.
And that’s exactly what happened. The wire, and then some.
The fourth quarter was defined by stunning shots from everyone. Unthinkable made buckets from Curry, Butler, Podziemski, Harden, and Leonard, easy dominance by Zubac, and Derrick Jones Jr. putting Curry on a poster with a monster jam.
A few minutes in, Harden sank three free throws to push the Clippers’ lead to seven points, but the Warriors were going nowhere. They chipped away, and a Curry three with 3:36 tied the game.
With a closing lineup of Curry, Podziemski, Butler, Green, and Gary Payton II — Moses Moody had slowed down following a dominant defensive first quarter — the Warriors dug in defensively, but LA did the same.
Curry hit free throws to take the lead with 3:12. Powell spun in a reverse layup to tie the game with 2:52. Curry made a trio of free throws to re-take the lead with 2:34. Leonard answered with a mid-range J. Curry sunk another three with 1:55 left to push the lead to four. Harden answered with a layup and, after a Warriors turnover, Kris Dunn found Zubac for a game-tying lob with just 56 remaining.
Playing for a two-for-one, Curry got stuck under the rim and turned the ball over. The Warriors had a foul to give, and Green committed it with 10.6 seconds remaining, opting to reset the defense — and turn off the shot clock — over insuring that the Dubs would get the ball back. And Green made the decision work, absolutely draping himself over Leonard, who was forced into an awkward long two, which he missed.
Chase Center exploded, and overtime was on the docket.
It started poorly. The Warriors couldn’t make a bucket in the opening minutes, and Harden drained a pair of threes, giving the Clippers a six-point lead. But Green answered with a three and, following some Harden free throws, Curry made a three of his own to make it a two-point game with two minutes remaining. When Leonard missed a step-back jumper, and the Warriors got the rebound, there was a feeling that they’d pull it off.
But they shot themselves in the foot. Curry was trapped on the other end, and committed his eighth turnover of the day, each seemingly more harmful than the last. Harden shot a floater on the other end, with Butler leaping too late and goaltending, pushing the Clippers lead to four points with 1:15 remaining.
They weren’t done, though. After Butler missed a three, the Dubs secured the offensive rebound and Podziemski was fouled. A brilliant play out of the timeout led to Green finding Butler for a massive and-one but, after an LA challenge, the foul was called off. The bucket still stood, with the Warriors trailing by two points and 50.2 seconds remaining.
Butler followed it up with defensive brilliance on the other end, meeting Leonard at the rim, keeping the Clippers’ star from getting a shot off, and forcing a traveling violation. The Warriors were getting the ball back with 36.7 seconds remaining down two, and had a prime chance for a two-for-one.
They squandered it. Payton found Green under the basket for what looked like an easy bucket, but Dray played for contact — which never came — and missed the layup. With less than a three-second difference between the game clock and shot clock, the Warriors opted to foul, but they for some reason waited until most of the shot clock had been used up. Leonard went to the free throw line with 6.1 seconds left, but gave the Warriors a gift by splitting the shots, keeping it a one-possession game.
Steve Kerr once again drew up a brilliant play during the timeout, setting up a wheel route that left Buddy Hield with a great look from the left wing. Getting an open three in that scenario — where the Clippers were surely planning to foul — was a win in and of itself. But Hield’s shot was off-line all the way and, fittingly, Harden snagged the rebound and made his free throws to ice the game.
Utter heartbreak for the Warriors, but there are worse places to be than the top play-in tournament seed. They get to host a Grizzlies team they’ve gone 3-1 against this year and, with a win, will face a Rockets team that they arguably match up with better than the Lakers. Still, it was an opportunity squandered, even if it was some outrageous entertainment.
Tuesday’s game will be in San Francisco, with the opening tip scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT. Should the Dubs lose, they’ll host the winner of Wednesday’s game between the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings on Friday night, with the eighth seed in the West up for grabs.