The Warriors dropped to seventh place and the Play-In Tournament with a 124-119 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at Chase Center on Sunday. Stephen Curry (36) and Jimmy Butler (30) both eclipsed 30 points for the Dubs, as did James Harden (39) and Kawhi Leonard (33) for the Clippers. Harden set the tone for the Clippers in overtime, opening with two threes that put Los Angeles up six points and they never looked back.
PLAYOFF JIMMY'S ARRIVAL
Coined 'Playoff Jimmy' for his ability to elevate his game as the stakes rise, Jimmy Butler III opened Sunday's 'win and you're in' game in attack mode. Butler threw down a pair of forceful dunks in the first quarter, scoring half of the Warriors' final 16 points of the frame as they closed on a 16-3 run. He had two double-digit scoring quarters (1st and 3rd) en route to his highest-scoring game as a Warrior.
MOODY'S CLAMPS
Moses Moody set the tone on the defensive end for the Warriors, taking turns clamping up both of the Clippers' dynamic guards. First, he stripped James Harden at half court and finished with an emphatic slam on the other end. Then, he blocked Norman Powell's 3-point attempt and deflected the loose ball off of Powell to give the Warriors possession. Moody also stole the ball from Powell at half court, this time completing the play with a crafty layup.
CURRY'S PERFECT FOURTH QUARTER
The Warriors needed Stephen Curry to be perfect in the fourth quarter and he was, scoring 18 points in the frame on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field. Curry relocated for a left corner three to tie the game with 3:38 left and hit his final splash of the quarter with 1:56 left to put the Warriors up four, followed by his signature shimmy. He also got fouled on a pair of long-range jumpers, finishing the frame a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line. Curry hit his seventh and final 3-pointer in overtime, finishing third in the league in made threes (311).
WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF PICTURE
The top six seeds for the Western Conference playoffs are set.
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Houston Rockets
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Denver Nuggets
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Minnesota Timberwolves
The Warriors and Grizzlies will battle for the seventh seed and the loser will have one more opportunity at the eighth seed, facing the winner of the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks. The two confirmed playoff series in the West are Lakers vs. Timberwolves and Nuggets vs. Clippers.
UP NEXT
The Warriors will host the Memphis Grizzlies for the first Western Conference Play-In Tournament game at Chase Center on Tuesday (7 p.m. PST).
MORE NOTABLES:
- Golden State finished the 2024-25 regular season in seventh place in the Western Conference… Golden State will host the Memphis Grizzlies in the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament Western Conference 7/8 seed game on Tuesday, April 15, at 7:00 p.m. PDT at Chase Center.
- Dating back to February 8, the Warriors finished the season with a record of 23-8 (.742), the third best winning percentage in the NBA, trailing only Oklahoma City (.844) and Boston (.833).
- The Warriors lost their third consecutive home game, matching their longest home-losing streak of the season(12/15-12/25), falling to 24-17 at Chase Center during the 2024-25 campaign.
- The Warriors lost their seventh consecutive game to the Clippers (third-straight at home) and were swept in a four-game season series by the Clippers for the first time since 2004-05… The last time the Warriors beat the Clippers was on 11/30/23.
- Tonight marked the Warriors’ 45th Clutch Game of the season, the second-most in the NBA this season (Minnesota – 46)… The Warriors fell to 25-20 in those contests.
- The Warriors’ 9.40 steals per game (ranked fourth in NBA), mark the highest steals average for Golden State since 2016-17 (9.57 spg).
- The Warriors bench averaged 43.6 points per game, the highest average by Warriors reserves in franchise history (since 1970-71, when starters were officially tracked, according to the Elias Sports Bureau)... The 43.6 points per game by the Warriors reserves ranked third in the NBA in 2024-25, behind San Antonio (44.1 ppg) and Memphis (43.9 ppg).
- The Warriors' starting lineup of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler III, Moses Moody, BrandinPodziemski finished the season with a record of 16-3.
- Tonight marked the eighth time this season the Warriors led 10-or-more points and went on to lose.
- The Warriors fell to 1-1 in overtime games this season (11/2/24 at HOU, 127-121, W).
- Tonight marked the first game this season the Warriors made at least 50.0% of their field goal attempts and lost (10-1).
- Golden State fell to 12-2 in games the team made at least 45.0% of their attempts from three.
- The Warriors fell to 26-9 on the season when dishing out 30-plus assists.
- Tonight marked the Warriors 559th consecutive sellout, the longest streak in franchise history and the third-longest active streak in the NBA.
- Stephen Curry tallied his 21st 30-point game of the season… It was the second time in the last three games he has scored at least 30 points (27.3 ppg in that span)… With a 93.3 free throw percentage, Curry finished as the league leader in free throw percentage for the fifth time in his career, tying Reggie Miller for the third most times leading the NBA in that category (Bill Sharman led the league in free throw percentage seven times, followed by Rick Barry with six and now Curry and Miller at five each)… Curry played a season-high 38 minutes and made seven 3-pointers, giving him 311 for the season, the third-most behind Anthony Edwards(320) and Malik Beasley (319)… His 311 3-pointers this season rank as the ninth-most in a single season in NBA history (Curry holds six of the Top 10).
- Jimmy Butler III recorded his first 30-point outing as a Warrior in a season-high 48 minutes (prev. 44 with Miami on 12/16 at DET)… The Warriors posted a record of 23-7 in games he played with the team during the regular season.
- Brandin Podziemski has scored at least 19 points in four of his last six games… He logged a career-high 43 minutes (prev. 40, 2/5/25 at UTA).
- Draymond Green went 4-of-6 from 3-point range, marking the fourth time this season he has made four-or-more3-pointers (Warriors 2-2 in those games this season and 20-4 all-time)… Green recorded a season-high 38 minutes.
- Buddy Hield played in all 82 games this season, giving him 166 over the span of the last two seasons (84 last season), becoming the 13th player in NBA history to play in at least 166 games in a two-season span.