Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson produced a vintage performance to carry the Golden State Warriors to a 119-97 road victory against the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
One of the few teams still with plenty to play for in the final games, the Warriors needed a win to avoid falling into the play-in tournament placings, as they would get leapfrogged by the 42-39 New Orleans Pelicans if they finish with an equal record.
But with Kings stars Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox both out resting – with Sacramento (48-33) locked into the Western Conference's third seed – the Warriors took full advantage.
In a terrific defensive outing, Golden State did not allow a single Sacramento starter to score more than Harrison Barnes' 13 points, while Curry and Thompson combined for 54 points and shot eight-of-15 from three-point range.
Thompson top-scored with 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting (five-of-eight from deep), while Curry chipped in 25 (eight-of-14 shooting, three-of-seven from deep), seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.
Donte DiVincenzo continued to excel when given an opportunity, with the 26-year-old backup guard putting together 18 points (seven-of-10 shooting), nine assists and six rebounds.
He vastly outplayed fellow rotation guard and sixth man Jordan Poole, who shot a poor zero-of-10 from the floor, and the two will likely be competing for minutes in the playoffs.
The victory means the Warriors can secure their spot in the playoffs by finishing the season with a win against the tanking Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, avoiding the play-in tournament in the process.
Reaves, Beasley lead important Lakers win
The Los Angeles Lakers (42-39) are only a half-game behind local rivals the Los Angeles Clippers (42-38) after a crucial 121-107 triumph at home against the undermanned Phoenix Suns.
With Phoenix resting Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, the full-strength Lakers made sure to capitalise, although it was neck-and-neck until the fourth quarter.
Both LeBron James (six-of-19 from the field) and Anthony Davis (four-of-12) had poor shooting nights, combining for just 30 points, but role players Austin Reaves and Malik Beasley came to the rescue.
Reaves was arguably the Lakers' best player, scoring 22 points on nine-of-13 shooting with five assists, while Beasley came off the bench to hit seven-of-14 shots, including four-of-10 from long range for 21 important points.
The Lakers will finish their regular season at home against the Utah Jazz on Sunday, and they can steal the sixth seed if the Clippers lose their final two games against Portland and Phoenix.
76ers ruin Trae's big night
Trae Young put up a ridiculous stat line of 27 points and 20 assists, but it was not enough as his Atlanta Hawks went down 136-131 to the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime.
Young's 20 assists broke his previous career-high by two, and he shot an efficient seven-of-14 from the field, but his nine turnovers were costly. It is the eighth time in Young's career he has committed at least nine turnovers in a game.
While the Hawks were at full strength, the 76ers rode a career-high 16 assists from bench guard Shake Milton in a rare start, with stars Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey out of action.
Jalen McDaniels enjoyed his best game in a Philly jersey with 24 points (eight-of-17 shooting), 11 rebounds and three steals, and Georges Niang also added 24 points (nine-of-13) in a starting role.
Doncic hails 'team player' Washington after Westbrook confrontation
Luka Doncic saluted "team player" P.J. Washington following his confrontation with Russell Westbrook during the Dallas Mavericks' victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Mavericks prevailed 101-90 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series, with Doncic falling just shy of a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Although, it was a feisty affair at the American Airlines Center, where Washington and Westbrook were both ejected after an altercation following the latter's foul and shove on Doncic.
The five-time NBA All-Star was grateful for Washington's support and intervention, paying tribute to his team-mate.
"The things he does, he's a team player," Doncic said. "He helps all of us. I'm just really happy we've got him on our team.
"I'm used to [getting subjected to extra physicality. I just try to stay calm and keep playing basketball."
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was also pleased by the togetherness demonstrated by his players with emotions running high.
"We're all competing for each inch to try to win," he said. "This series is going to be more mental as it goes on, just because of the physicality.
"It's very physical, but the mental aspect of this series, we have to be sharp and we have to understand what's taking place. I thought the guys did a great job of protecting one another."
Durant urges Suns to use fans' frustration as 'fuel' towards playoff recovery
Kevin Durant has urged the Phoenix Suns to use their supporters' frustrations as 'fuel' to reduce their first-round series arrears against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Suns fell 3-0 behind in the series as they went down 126-109 in Game 3 at Footprint Center, where Anthony Edwards led the way for the Timberwolves with 36 points.
No team has overturned a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoff history, and the home fans' disappointment in their side's performance was evident with many heading for the exits long before the contest's conclusion.
Durant, who finished with 25 points, empathises with the supporters.
"They expect so much out of us, and they pay their hard-earned money, and they deserve to react how they want to react," he said. "It's on us as players to use it as fuel, and hopefully it ignites us for the next game [on Sunday]."
The Suns have now lost five successive playoff games - the joint-longest streak in their history - and face the prospect of getting swept for the first time in a quarter of a century.
"I've never been swept a day in my life," guard Bradley Beal said. "I'll be damned if that happens."
Head coach Frank Vogel added: "There's no quit in our group. This group does not want the season to come to an end. We want this really bad, so it is disappointing. It is frustrating.
"We're all very invested in this, and we're all pouring everything we have to bring these fans a team they could be proud of, and we feel like we can still do that, but we haven't played well enough in this series."
NBA: Haliburton lifts Pacers to 2-1 lead; Wolves take 3-0 lead and Mavs go up 2-1 on Clippers
Tyrese Haliburton capped his first career playoff triple-double with a three-point play with 1.6 seconds left in overtime that gave the Indiana Pacers a 121-118 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Friday's Game 3 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinals series.
Haliburton's winning shot and 18-point, 10-rebound, 16-assist performance lifted the sixth-seeded Pacers to a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series, which resumes in Indianapolis with Sunday's Game 4.
Indiana also received a big effort from Myles Turner, who set a playoff career-high with 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
With the game tied at 118-118, Haliburton was fouled by Patrick Beverley as he drained a 15-foot floater with time winding down. The All-Star point guard then calmly hit the ensuing free throw for a three-point Indiana advantage.
The third-seeded Bucks were able to get a shot off before the buzzer, but Khris Middleton's 3-point try missed the mark as time expired.
Middleton did record a playoff career high of 42 points to go along with 10 rebounds on a night Milwaukee was again without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a strained left calf that's sidelined him the entire series.
Damian Lillard scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half for Milwaukee, which overcame a 17-point third-quarter deficit to force overtime on Middleton's 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining in regulation.
Doncic leads Mavericks to chippy win
Luka Dončić fell just shy of a triple-double and the Dallas Mavericks turned up the defense in a chippy 101-90 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.
Doncic finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and Kyrie Irving scored 19 of his 21 points in the final 13-plus minutes, including eight in the final 78 seconds of the third quarter.
The Mavericks continued their strong defense from Tuesday’s Game 2 road win and won at home three years after losing all three first-round home games in a seven-game loss to the Clippers.
Game 4 is Sunday in Dallas.
James Harden and Norman Powell each scored 21 points but stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard had little impact, combining for just 16 points on 7 for 18 from the field.
An already testy game reached a boiling point midway through the fourth quarter, when Russell Westbrook slung Doncic around after fouling him.
Westbrook was called for a technical for that contact and for shoving P.J. Washington after Washington confronted him. Washington was also called for a tech during the sequence, and already had one from an earlier shoving match with Terance Mann.
Edwards, balanced Timberwolves handle Suns
Anthony Edwards scored 36 points to lead six players in double figures and the Minnesota Timberwolves rolled to a 126-109 win over the Phoenix Suns to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series.
Edwards had nine rebounds and five assists, Rudy Gobert added 19 points with 14 rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 18 points and 13 boards as Minnesota took a 3-0 series lead for the first time in franchise history.
They can complete the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday.
Minnesota for the third straight game used a big third quarter to turn a close game into an easy win. The Wolves hit 7 of 11 3-pointers during the surge, including four from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, for a 95-73 lead entering the fourth.
Phoenix never got the deficit below double digits in the fourth and is one loss away from getting swept for the first time since 1998-99.
Bradley Beal scored 28 points and Kevin Durant added 25 for the Suns, who played without starting guard Grayson Allen (sprained left ankle). He led the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage this season.
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