Curry's 35 points and a late go-ahead three lifted the Warriors 126-121 over the Clippers on 15 April 2026, while the 76ers topped Orlando 109-97 to advance to face the Celtics.
With the shot clock winding and Chase Center at a volume that carried through closed corridors, Stephen Curry received a screen from Draymond Green on the left wing, took two dribbles right, and rose over Kawhi Leonard to sink the three-pointer that put the Warriors ahead for good with 40 seconds left in a 126-121 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on 15 April 2026. The NBA play-in tournament delivered exactly what it promised: a night where legacies and livelihoods tilted on single possessions.
It was the fourth time in seven years that Curry and the Warriors have fought off a season-ending threat in the play-in or the first round. The pattern by now is almost ritual — a stumble during the regular season, a near-death experience in April, then a Curry performance that reminds everyone why Golden State remains the league's most combustible roster at crunch time. Curry finished with 35 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including 6-for-13 from three. His final three came off a pick-and-roll the Clippers had successfully defended three times already in the fourth quarter.
NBA play-in 2026 · Stephen Curry · Warriors Clippers
Los Angeles had genuine reasons for optimism entering Chase Center. Kawhi Leonard — who has appeared in more than 60 regular-season games just twice in the past seven years — finished this campaign healthy enough to start, and he delivered: 22 points and 10 rebounds. Paul George contributed 21. The Clippers led by 8 at the end of the third quarter, and for a roughly four-minute stretch in the fourth it looked as though their season might extend to Friday. Then it ended on a Curry three that landed with the precision of a closing argument.
“Los Angeles had genuine reasons for optimism entering Chase Center.”
The night's other play-in game delivered a cleaner result. Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points for the Philadelphia 76ers in a 109-97 win over the Orlando Magic, securing the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round matchup against the No. 2 Boston Celtics. Orlando played without Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, both listed as game-time decisions who ultimately did not dress. Their absence compressed what might have been a competitive contest into a comfortable Sixers win by the third quarter. Maxey was efficient rather than spectacular — 11-for-19 from the field — and Philadelphia's defence held Orlando to 38 percent shooting.
Key Takeaways
→NBA play-in 2026: Curry scored 35 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including 6-for-13 from three-point range.
→Stephen Curry: Curry scored 35 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including 6-for-13 from three-point range.
→Warriors Clippers: Curry scored 35 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including 6-for-13 from three-point range.
→76ers Magic: Curry scored 35 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including 6-for-13 from three-point range.
NBA play-in 2026 · Stephen Curry · Warriors Clippers
Whether the Warriors can advance past Phoenix is a separate, harder conversation. The Suns finished the regular season 48-34, sixth in the Western Conference, and Devin Booker averaged 30.2 points per game from January onward after an injury-slowed start. Golden State will play the first two games in Phoenix and will be significant underdogs when the first-round series begins Friday 18 April. Draymond Green — who was suspended for one game in February and has accumulated ejection risk throughout the season — will be a central variable. His defensive intelligence is irreplaceable against a Booker-Bradley Beal backcourt, but his emotional management is its own playoff-round wager.
The Sixers, by contrast, drew a more credentialed opponent on paper. Boston finished 56-26 and won its second straight Eastern Conference title in 2025. The variable is Joel Embiid, who was listed as questionable for Tuesday's play-in and missed the Magic game entirely with a foot issue. If Embiid returns to full health for the series beginning 19 April, Philadelphia is competitive — his impact on both ends transforms the matchup. If his foot remains a problem, Maxey becomes the entire offence and Boston's depth advantage becomes decisive in a way that 31 play-in points cannot overcome.
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The bigger picture:
The play-in format has been contested since its introduction in 2020, with coaches and players in the 7-to-10 range routinely calling it double jeopardy for regular-season investment. Tuesday's games — one blowout, one thriller — make the counterargument. The tournament extracts exactly the kind of sustained late-season engagement from players and franchises that a fixed bracket would not. Chase Center was sold out; so was Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center. Those numbers make an argument without needing a microphone.
Curry celebrated the go-ahead basket with a chest bump against the scorer's table that broadcast cameras captured from three angles. He then found his wife Ayesha in the third row and pointed. A small gesture, given the circumstances — except that those were exactly the circumstances.
What were Stephen Curry's final stats against the Clippers?
Curry scored 35 points on 12-for-22 shooting, including 6-for-13 from three-point range. His final three-pointer gave the Warriors the lead for good with 40 seconds remaining in a 126-121 victory on 15 April 2026.
Who do the Warriors face in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs?
The Warriors will visit the Phoenix Suns, with Game 1 on 18 April 2026. Phoenix was the No. 6 seed, finishing 48-34 in the regular season behind Devin Booker, who averaged 30.2 points per game from January onward.
Who will the 76ers face after winning the play-in?
The Philadelphia 76ers earned the No. 7 seed and will face the No. 2 Boston Celtics, with the series beginning 19 April 2026. Joel Embiid missed the play-in game with a foot issue and is listed as questionable for the opening round.
