Al Horford Just Won a Play-In Game With Four 3-Pointers in 5:37 and the Warriors Are Headed to Phoenix

This is the kind of playoff basketball that makes you yell at your TV. The Golden State Warriors, sitting in 10th place, just knocked off the ninth-place Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 in a Western Conference play-in game on Wednesday night in Inglewood, and it was a 39-year-old bench player who delivered the dagger.

Al Horford came off the bench with just two points through most of the game. Then, with 5:37 left, he flipped a switch. Four 3-pointers. That's it. That's the game right there. Horford finished with 14 points and basically singlehandedly buried the Clippers' season.

Curry Did Curry Things, But Horford Was the Star

Stephen Curry went off for 35 points and buried a deep 3-pointer with 50.4 seconds left to put the Warriors ahead 120-117 for good. Seven made 3-pointers on 12 attempts. The Warriors shot 19-of-41 from beyond the arc (46.3%) as a team. That's the kind of shooting that wins play-in games.

But here's the thing: Horford stole the show. His clutch buckets were set up by two assists from Gui Santos and two from Curry. Santos was huge all night with 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points, including six straight in the fourth quarter at one point.

The Clippers Had Control, Then Lost Everything

Los Angeles led for most of the game and built an advantage as large as 13 points. Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland each finished with 21 points, and Bennedict Mathurin led the Clippers with 23 points off the bench. Leonard went coast-to-coast for a slam right before halftime and scored 14 of his points in the first half. But he went cold in the second half, committing a pair of turnovers in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors uncorked a game-ending 27-13 run that turned the whole thing around. Once Horford got hot and Curry locked in, the Clippers had no answer. Leonard's only fourth-quarter points came on a dunk in the final seconds after the Warriors had already put it away.

Golden State advances to a sudden-death matchup against the Suns in Phoenix on Friday night. The winner gets the West's No. 8 seed and becomes Oklahoma City's first-round playoff opponent. For the Clippers, this loss ends their season.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.