Steve Kerr praised Stephen Curry's ability to "put on a great show every night" as he recorded 50 points despite the Golden State Warriors losing on the road again at the Los Angeles Clippers.
Kawhi Leonard top-scored for the hosts with 30, but had far more help from his teammates as they ran out 134-126 victors at the Crypto.com Arena.
Curry did his best as he sank 20 of 28 field-goal attempts and eight of 14 three-point shots, but no other Golden State player was able to score more than the 19 managed by Jordan Poole.
While disappointed with yet another road defeat, coach Kerr was left in awe at Curry's performance.
"It's like when a guy's throwing a no-hitter, just leave him alone," Kerr said after the loss. "Let him sit in the dugout in between innings and don't say anything to him.
"It was stunning watching that show. Watching some of the shot-making, the playmaking. We're so lucky on so many levels to coach Steph, to play with Steph.
"Our fans, being able to watch Steph, he puts on a great show every night. But this ranks right up there with some of the greatest individual performances that I've ever seen from him."
It meant that Curry became the first player in NBA history to score 50+ points, make eight or more threes and shoot 70 per cent from the field while being on the losing team in regulation.
Draymond Green, who scored eight points with eight rebounds and five assists, was left frustrated that he and his teammates could not provide Curry with more assistance.
The Warriors suffered their 27th defeat on the road out of 34 games for the season, the most by a defending champion in the league's history.
"It sucks," Green said. "You just sit and think about what more could I have done to help him?
"When you get a guy going off like that, you need to find a way to capitalise on it. We didn't do that.
"There is always frustration after a loss. Yeah, I think we did play better, but at the end of the day, you've got to come out with a win. You've got to figure out a way to win."
Golden State (36-34) are sixth in the Western Conference, one place behind the Clippers (37-33), who have won four games in a row.
Heat beat Bulls to set up rematch with Celtics; Pelicans hold off Kings
Tyler Herro fell an assist shy of a triple-double and scored 24 points as the Miami Heat rolled to a 112-91 win over the Chicago Bulls on Friday to secure the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Jaime Jaques Jr. added 21 points, Kevin Love had 16 and Bam Adebayo 13 for Miami, which advanced to face the league-leading Boston Celtics in a rematch of the last two East finals.
They were the No. 8 seed last season also and survived the play-in before going all the way to the NBA Finals.
The Heat were without star forward Jimmy Butler and won’t have him available for the Boston series, either.
Even without Butler, Miami took control with a 19-0 run in the first quarter, and a 14-0 surge midway through the second half. Herro finished with 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Heat eliminated the Bulls in the last East play-in game for the second straight season.
DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points and Nikola Vucevic had 16, 14 boards and five assists but the Bulls were unable to become the fifth team in the last 35 years to make the playoffs after not spending a single day all season over the .500 mark.
The Heat were held to 13 points in the second quarter but still took a 47-37 lead into the break because the Bulls went 8 for 39 from the field after opening 4 for 5. Chicago missed 14 of 15 shots in one stretch.
Chicago got as close as 70-60 in the third quarter before Miami essentially iced the game with the 14-0 run.
Pelicans continue mastery of Kings
Brandon Ingram scored 24 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 19 with 12 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans secured the eighth seed in the Western Conference with a 105-98 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Trey Murphy III had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists as six players scored in double figures for the Pelicans, who won all six meetings this season against the Kings and now move on to face top-seeded Oklahoma City in the first round of the playoffs.
The Pelicans are the first team to 6-0 in a season (without a playoff series) against an opponent since Denver against Minnesota in 1994-95.
New Orleans played without leading scorer Zion Williamson (left hamstring), who will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
De’Aaron Fox poured in 35 points and Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists but the Kings shot just 40.9 percent (36 of 88) from the field and misfired on 30 of 41 (26.8 percent) from 3-point range.
Sacramento got just 12 points from its bench compared to 34 for New Orleans.
'Lot of value' in Warriors keeping Curry, Green and Thompson together, says Kerr
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes there is a "lot of value" in the team keeping their core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson together, as the latter of the trio prepares to hit free agency.
The Warriors' season came to an abrupt end on Tuesday as they were dumped out of the Play-In Tournament by the Sacramento Kings, falling to a 118-94 defeat to their upstate rivals.
It is the third time in the last five seasons that Golden State – who have won four NBA championships under Kerr – have missed out on a playoff berth.
That has led to questions being asked about the team's future, and they have a decision to make over Thompson as the 34-year-old prepares to become an unrestricted free agent.
While the Warriors have outlined their desire to keep Thompson, he has been linked with the Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks and says his priority is playing for a championship contender.
Speaking at his exit interview on Thursday, Kerr spoke of the difficulties of breaking up great teams and said he was keen to continue working with the Warriors' 'big three'.
"It's rarely a storybook," Kerr said. "Even the '96 or '98 Bulls, the team was broken up and we won the championship in our last year but there was a documentary about what a disaster the whole thing was. It's impossible for this stuff to end perfectly.
"I do think there is a lot of value to having our three guys being Warriors for life. I think there's a lot of value in ending with dignity.
"For those three, I really want to see all of them finish their careers here, but also finish out their careers with a sense of pride and dignity in what they're doing."
Much of the Warriors' season was overshadowed by discussions regarding Green's ill-discipline, with the forward being ejected four times in 2023-24.
Green also missed 16 games after receiving an indefinite suspension for striking Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face in December, an incident that Kerr described as "unforgivable".
However, Kerr still believes Green is worth the trouble, saying: "Yet I forgave him. He's one of the most competitive, one of the smartest players I've ever been around.
"Yet he makes these decisions that hurt the team, that aren't smart. So how do you reconcile all that? It's really difficult.
"The number one thing I would say is, if we decided he wasn't worth it then we would have moved off of him years ago.
"But he's worth it and he's worth it not only because of the banners that are hanging out there but because he really is a wonderful human being."
Leonard questionable for Game 1 versus Mavs as Clippers monitor 'unpredictable' situation
Kawhi Leonard is questionable for Game 1 of the Los Angeles Clippers' playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks as he continues to be troubled by inflammation in his right knee.
Leonard has undergone surgeries to repair damage to the anterior cruciate ligament and the meniscus in his right knee in the last few years, having torn his ACL during a second-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz in 2021.
The six-time All-Star has not featured for the Clippers – who clinched the Western Conference's fifth seed – since the end of March, missing their last eight games of the regular season.
Speaking ahead of Thursday's practice session, the Clippers' president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Leonard had work to do to make Sunday's matchup at Crypto.com Arena.
"He's doing everything, our medical staff is doing everything to get the inflammation down so he can play," Frank said.
"Progress has been made, but the inflammation needs to continue to reduce so he can do functional basketball movements.
"There is no gamesmanship here and we're very sensitive of the fact that questions are going to be asked and want to be as transparent as possible. It's okay to say what the truth is. It's unpredictable.
"We're hoping it's trending in the right direction. It's a very accurate statement. When it gets to a point where he's able to play, then that's when he'll be back on the court."
The two-time NBA champion averaged 23.7 points and 6.1 rebounds through 68 regular-season appearances in 2023-24, the former figure falling just short of his 23.8 points per game last term.
Despite Leonard's importance to the Clippers' chances of defeating Luka Doncic and company, Frank says no risks will be taken with his fitness.
"In terms of where we're heading, is it possible he could play? Sure, it's possible. It's Thursday. With each day we'll know more and more," Frank said.
"Obviously if he's not healthy to play at a certain moment then he won't be out there. When Kawhi is healthy, he plays.
"Some things you can't control, regardless of how meticulous he is with his body and everything that goes into playing. You can only control what you can control and you've got to surrender to the things you can't."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
