Suns knock out Warriors, earn Sunday Game 1 clash with defending champion Thunder
The Suns escaped a historic home collapse, as no team had ever lost both play-in tournament games
Published April 18, 2026
Suns ended Warriors season by securing the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs in the NBA’s play-in tournament on Friday, April 17, 2026.
Phoenix Suns defeated Golden State Warriors by winning 111-96 in play-in tournament.
The Suns took the No. 8 spot and are set to face off against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, April 19, in Game 1.
With this defeat, Warriors' season has come to an end.
Steph Curry, 38, whose career appears to be fading away, couldn’t get many clean looks and closed with 17 points on 4-of-16 shooting.
Brandin Podziemski was the only lead scorer for Warriors with 23 points.
Phoenix led by five at the break and built a 69-53 advantage with 5:12 minutes left in the third quarter after a layup on the break by Royce O’Neale.
Suns’ Booker and Golden State’s Draymond Green received two technical fouls late in the fourth quarter after exchanging heated words several times and got ejected.
Jalen Green scored 36 points, showing a masterclass of performance.
He has joined Steph Curry as the only NBA players in NBA Play-In history to record back-to-back 35-point games.
The Suns escaped a historic home collapse as no team had ever lost both play-in tournament games. The current format was introduced in 2021.
