The Phoenix Suns on Friday ended the Golden State Warriors’ season, while the Orlando Magic thrashed the Charlotte Hornets as the NBA playoffs’ final teams were decided.
Jalen Green put in a dazzling performance with 36 points, including eight triples, to secure the Western Conference No. 8 seed for Phoenix with a 111-96 win over Stephen Curry’s Warriors.
The Suns got off to a bright start with a 33-15 lead in the first quarter before the Warriors cut the deficit to five points at halftime.
Photo: AFP
However, Phoenix kept a wasteful Golden State at arms’ length, successfully limiting veteran superstar Curry to just 17 points.
With barely a minute left, Jordan Goodwin intercepted a pass intended for Curry and scored a transition bucket before adding a three on Phoenix’s next possession to secure the win.
Victory set up a first-round playoff clash for Phoenix with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the defending NBA champions.
Photo: AP
“Happy as hell. We came out fire, we knew this was a do-or-die game,” said Green, who added six rebounds and four assists.
For the injury-plagued and ageing Warriors, who won the NBA title in 2022, it was a disappointing end to a third consecutive season in the play-in tournament, crashing out before the playoffs as they did in 2024.
In fiery late scenes, two Warriors players — Draymond Green and Devin Booker — were ejected from the court, with Draymond Green taunting the home Phoenix fans as he departed.
Photo: AFP
Orlando beat the Hornets 121-90 to keep their season alive and set up a daunting first-round playoff series for the Magic against the Eastern Conference top-seeded Detroit Pistons.
Paolo Banchero top-scored with 25 points in Orlando’s last chance to qualify for the post-season via the play-in tournament, having failed at their first attempt against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
The first-round series in the NBA’s Eastern Conference are: No. 1 Detroit Pistons (60-22) versus No. 8 Orlando Magic (45-37); No. 2 Boston Celtics (56-26) versus No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers (45-37); No. 3 New York Knicks (53-29) versus No. 6 Atlanta Hawks (46-36); and No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30) versus No. 5 Toronto Raptors (46-36).
In the Western Conference, the matchups are: No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18) versus No. 8 Phoenix Suns (45-37); No. 2 San Antonio Spurs (62-20) versus No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers (42-40); No. 3 Denver Nuggets (54-28) versus No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33); and No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers (53-29) versus No. 5 Houston Rockets (52-30).
The series are to start this morning Taiwan time.