Published April 18, 2026
Jalen Green’s 36 points helped the Phoenix Suns advance to the playoffs with a 111-96 play-in victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors on Friday.
The Suns earned the eighth postseason seed in the Western Conference. They will face the defending champion and top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday to begin the first round of the series.
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Phoenix scored 30 points off the Warriors’ 21 turnovers.
In the opening play-in game, Phoenix gave up a late lead against the Portland Trail Blazers, but this time the Suns held on.
However, there was some drama in the second half.
The winner was already decided when Golden State’s Draymond Green fouled out with just over a minute left in the game. Warriors coach Steve Kerr shared moments with Draymond Green and Stephen Curry and embraced them both. The three contributed to four NBA Championship appearances.
However, once the game resumed, Draymond Green and the Suns’ Devin Booker got into a heated argument that lasted several minutes before the whistle blew and both players were given technical fouls. Green was ejected.
After the Warriors scored the first two points, Phoenix went on a 13-0 run to take a huge lead, then scored eight straight points to take a 33-15 lead at the end of the quarter.
Golden State’s 15 first-quarter points were its fewest in a quarter since it scored 14 in the fourth quarter against the Thunder on March 7.
The Suns shot 52.4 percent in the first quarter, but struggled in the second as the Warriors fought back.
Phoenix made just 5 of 20 field goals in the second game, and Golden State got within two on Curry’s free throws with 19.6 seconds left in the first half.
With time running out, Jaylen Green hit a 3-pointer from the side and drained it for the Suns’ first field goal in more than five minutes, giving Phoenix a 50-45 lead at halftime.
Golden State’s Brandin Podzemski scored 10 of his team-high 23 points in the second game. He led the Warriors in rebounds with 10.
The Suns regained control in the third quarter with an 11-1 run led by two 3-pointers from Jaylen Green.
Booker had 20 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Phoenix’s Jordan Goodwin had 19 points, nine rebounds and six steals.
Curry scored 17 points in the loss, but shot just 4-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-10 from 3-point range.
Magic extends Hornets’ playoff drought, next face Pistons
Paolo Banchero scored 25 points and led five host Orlando Magic players to double-digit scoring as they defeated the Charlotte Hornets 121-90 in Friday’s play-in game and advanced to the Eastern Conference playoffs.
After finishing the regular season in eighth place, the Magic earned the No. 8 seed and will face the top-seeded Pistons in a best-of-seven first-round series starting Sunday night in Detroit.
This is the Magic’s third consecutive playoff appearance, and the franchise’s longest since a team-record six consecutive appearances from 2007 to 2012.
LaMelo Ball scored 23 points for the Hornets, who finished ninth in the East. Charlotte had a dramatic 127-126 overtime victory over the Miami Heat in Tuesday’s first play-in game, but missed the postseason for the 10th consecutive season, the NBA’s longest active drought.
Franz Wagner finished with 18 points and Wendell Carter Jr. had 16 points for the Magic, which got 13 points from Desmond Bane and 12 points from Jalen Suggs. Orlando shot 50 percent from the field (42 of 84) and 29.6 percent from 3-point range (8 of 27).
“When you play with a sense of desperation and urgency when you know you’re either going to go home or extend your season, that’s what happens,” Magic head coach Jamal Mosley said.
Miles Bridges scored 15 points, Brandon Miller added 14 points and Con Knuppel added 11 points in what was Charlotte’s most lopsided loss of the season. The visiting players shot just 33.7 percent (28 of 83) and 26.7 percent (12 of 45) from beyond the arc.
With 9:58 left in the first quarter, Miller’s 3-pointer gave the Hornets their only lead at 5-4. The Magic scored the next 10 points, then Bridges and Miller combined for five straight points.
The Magic responded with a 13-0 run led by Carter and Banchero, who combined for 11 points, to take a 27-10 lead. Goga Bitadze’s layup gave Orlando its first 20-point lead at 36-16 with 54 seconds left.
The Magic led by as many as 35 points in the second game and entered the first half with a 68-37 advantage. Orlando led 102-71 at the end of the third and increased the lead to as many as 33 points in the fourth.
“Hopefully this is a driving force for us this offseason, because we did a lot of really good things and gave ourselves a chance. We’re very close to making the playoffs, so we don’t want to discredit that,” Hornets head coach Charles Lee said. “But this must hurt a little.”
