The Clippers Defeat the Warriors to Secure the 5th Seed and Advance to the Play-in Round

The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Golden State Warriors 124-119 in overtime on Sunday afternoon, sending the Clippers straight into the NBA playoffs and relegating the Warriors to the play-in bracket. James Harden scored 12 of his game-high 39 points in overtime.

Ivica Zubac recorded 22 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, while Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals. Together, these players helped the Clippers (50-32) earn the fifth seed in the Western playoffs and a first-round meeting with the No. 4 Denver Nuggets.

The Warriors (48-34), who fell to seventh place in the Western Conference, will play the No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies in a play-in game Tuesday night in San Francisco after Stephen Curry scored 36 points, 21 of which came from 3-pointers. The winner will face the Houston Rockets, who are ranked number two in the playoffs, as the seventh seed.

Harden and his heroics with Clippers

With a 3-pointer 69 seconds into the five-minute overtime, Harden gave the Clippers the lead for good. Later, with 3.0 seconds remaining, he made two more free throws, a floater in the lane, another 3-pointer, and two more game-winning foul shots to give Los Angeles their eighth straight victory.

Late in overtime, the Warriors had two chances to tie the game, but Buddy Hield missed a 3-point shot with 5.1 seconds left that possibly might have tied the score, and Draymond Green missed a layup with 26.1 seconds left when Golden State was down only two.

After a close regulation game in which Curry scored 18 points in the final 7:52, there was an extra session. However, Leonard had the game-winning shot after being pressured into an off-line 20-footer by Warriors defensive ace Green.

In addition, Harden managed to contribute a game-high ten assists to the Clippers’ victory over Golden State in the four-game season series. Kris Dunn and Norman Powell each contributed 11 points to the cause.

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