The Phoenix Suns secured the Western Conference's eighth playoff seed on Friday, defeating the Golden State Warriors 111-96 in the NBA play-in tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. Jalen Green was the standout performer with 36 points, including a crucial three-pointer just before halftime that steadied the Suns after a second-quarter wobble, and two more in a decisive 11-1 third-quarter run that put the game out of reach. Phoenix will now travel to face the defending champion and top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday to open their first-round series.
The Suns' victory was built on both individual brilliance and collective defensive pressure. Phoenix scored 30 points off 21 Golden State turnovers, and Devin Booker contributed 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Jordan Goodwin added 19 points and nine rebounds alongside a remarkable six steals. For the Warriors, Brandin Podziemski led all scorers with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Stephen Curry — one of basketball's most celebrated players and a four-time NBA champion with Golden State — managed just 17 points on a difficult night from the field, shooting 4 of 16. The defeat means Golden State have missed the playoffs for the fourth time in seven years. After the final buzzer, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who has guided the franchise to four titles since 2014, embraced both Curry and Draymond Green in a poignant moment on the sideline. Kerr later hinted at uncertainty about his future, saying the coaching role "has an expiration date."
The game ended with a flare of late drama. With the result already decided, Draymond Green fouled out and then became embroiled in a heated exchange with Booker, resulting in technical fouls for both players and Green's ejection from the game. The incident, while ultimately inconsequential to the scoreline, underlined the competitive tension that has historically characterised clashes between these two franchises.
In the Eastern Conference play-in game played earlier the same evening, the Orlando Magic, based in Orlando, Florida, dismantled the Charlotte Hornets 121-90 to claim the East's eighth seed. Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 25 points, supported by Franz Wagner's 18 and Wendell Carter Jr.'s 16. Orlando will face the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the first round beginning Sunday. For Charlotte, the loss extended a painful streak: the Hornets have now missed the playoffs for ten consecutive seasons, the longest active drought in the NBA.
The completion of the play-in round means the full eight-team playoff fields in both conferences are now set. The play-in format, introduced in recent years, gives teams finishing seventh through tenth in each conference a final chance to qualify, adding meaningful late-season stakes for franchises that would otherwise have been eliminated. For the Suns, who stumbled in their first play-in game before rallying, the format ultimately delivered a lifeline they fully converted.