SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors are well aware of their fraught history in the NBA play-in tournament. Well, most of them.
“I don’t remember anything about being in a play-in game,” coach Steve Kerr joked Sunday after a 124-119 overtime loss to the Clippers sealed the Warriors’ fate as the Western Conference’s seventh seed.
Kerr’s convenient lapse in memory aside, it’s a situation Golden State has found itself in twice in the five years the format has existed — and ended in heartbreak each time.
“We haven’t fared well in these play-in games,” Draymond Green acknowledged.
LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 19: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers scores the game winning three point basket against Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors in the closing minute of an NBA Tournament Play-In game at Staples Center on May 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)They have produced a legendary Steph-LeBron battle, the kindling for a rivalry that would spark a year later and a gut punch at the hands of their regional rivals.
But no wins. Just three losses and two postseason eliminations.
“I remember each one of them vividly,” Stephen Curry said.
If, like Kerr, you washed each of those games from your memory, here’s a refresher on Golden State’s past play-in experiences starting most recently, less than 100 miles up the road on I-80.
2024 Scenario: 46-36 regular season record, No. 10 seed Result: 118-94 loss at No. 9 Sacramento Kings
The Warriors were one win away from avoiding another trip to the play-in, but it could have been a lot worse if they hadn’t made a monumental midseason move to bring in Jimmy Butler III.
Golden State was in a similar position a year ago, but without a true No. 2 to Curry, the Warriors limped into the last play-in seed and were subjected to Sacramento fans chanting “Light the Beam” before the fourth quarter was half over.
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry #30 sits on the court after being knocked down by Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis #10 in the third quarter of their NBA play-in tournament game at the Golden One Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)Curry scored 22, but nobody else contributed more than 16 points, and the Warriors trailed by double digits for most of the second half. Keegan Murray scored 32 on 8 3-pointers, and the Kings avenged their Game 7 loss in the first round a year prior.
“We washed the Sacramento game down the drain pretty quickly,” Curry said Sunday night.
2021 Scenario: 39-33 regular season record, No. 8 seed Result: 103-100 loss at No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers, 117-112 OT loss vs. No. 9 Memphis Grizzlies
Curry needed only a few words to sum up Golden State’s first foray in the play-in, which still sits with him four years later.
“LeBron hits that shot in the right wing, Ja (Morant) hits a couple tough buckets,” Curry said, his voice trailing off.
There are plenty of parallels to this year. The 2021 Warriors also ended the regular season playing their best basketball of the season and only had to win one game to advance to the playoffs.
It even featured a matchup against the Grizzlies, who visit to Chase Center on Tuesday Golden State hopes for a different ending than in 2021. A year before they butted heads in a heated Western Conference semifinals, Morant and the Grizzlies ended the Warriors’ season.
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The do-or-die scenario was set up two days earlier at Staples Center by an even more spectacular shot by James, who drained a 34-footer with under a minute to go and the shot clock expiring. He claimed afterward that he was “literally seeing three rims out there, so I just shot at the middle one.”
The lesson? Take care of business.
The difference? Now they have Butler, who led the Heat from the play-in to the Finals two years ago. As Green said after Sunday’s loss, “I mean, we just draw on having Jimmy. … That’s it.”
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