Steph Curry and Draymond Green turn back clock, keep Warriors' season alive in play-in comeback over Clippers

Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News on Apr 16, 2026

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INGLEWOOD — Steph Curry had two defenders on him and a tie on the scoreboard as he faded away with 50 seconds remaining against the Clippers in a win-or-go-home game at Intuit Dome.

After burying the improbable 3-point shot, he roared, flexed and celebrated to a crowd that was obviously cheering for the visitors. On the very next possession, Draymond Green had his own throwback moment, forcing a turnover on the inbounds play, leading to Brandin Podziemski’s and-1 layup and a six-point lead with 46 seconds remaining.

The Warriors, having been down multiple times by double digits, kept their season alive with a 126-121 victory in the play-in tournament.

Curry scored a game-high 35 points, and Al Horford scored 14 for the Warriors, including a barrage of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Kawhi Leonard scored 19 for the Clippers.

If the Warriors were going to stay in Wednesday night’s game, a vintage Curry Flurry was a necessity. They got it.

Curry, still working his way back from the runner’s knee that cost him 27 games, struggled to find his shot early in the game, shooting just 2 of 9 while being harassed by the agile Derrick Jones Jr.

But it was only a matter of time before Curry shook loose. A floater. A layup. A 4-point play through contact. Curry broke free for 16 points in the third quarter — he also had an assist to Gary Payton II. The SoCal crowd roared, obviously partial to the visitors. How could they not applaud? It was vintage Curry. The Intuit Dome attendees even provided a throwback soundtrack to his masterpiece with booming “WAAAAR-RIOOOOOORS” chants.

Curry’s run thrilled, but it was just one of several by both teams, and the Clippers had an answer for each Warriors burst. Until they didn’t.

The Clippers led 31-22 after one quarter, 61-52 at halftime, and 89-83 heading into the fourth quarter. Curry returned to the court with 9:27 left in the fourth quarter and immediately splashed a 3-pointer. A few possessions later, he dished to Kristaps Porzingis for a 3-pointer that cut the Clippers’ lead to 100-97.

Darius Garland then responded by knocking down a tough fadeaway triple and finishing a contested floater through the foul as part of an 8-2 Clippers run.

Horford, stricken all season with various injuries, showed up late by providing Curry with an outlet, who knocked down four fourth-quarter 3-pointers to help take a 117-115 lead with two minutes to go.

Curry and Green took over from there.

The Clippers began the game on a 12-2 run. When Darius Garland casually jogged into an uncontested 15-foot midrange jumper, Steve Kerr called timeout in disgust.

That set the tone for the game, as did the Warriors missing 7 of 14 free throws in the first half. Golden State needed to play a clean game to prevail, and with 20 turnovers, the Warriors certainly did not get that.

But they had Steph Curry, so it didn’t matter.

The Warriors will play at Phoenix on Friday (7 p.m., Prime Video), and the winner of that game will take on Oklahoma City in a seven-game series.