Despite Saturday's disappointing 124-115 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena, the Golden State Warriors have retained hold of the sixth-seed for now with just 11 games remaining in their regular season.
The L.A. Clippers had an opportunity on Sunday to match the Warriors' 41-30 record and move past them in the standings thanks to holding the season tie-break. However, Golden State have the Oklahoma City Thunder to thank for that not coming to fruition, with the Western Conference-leaders doing enough to overcome the Clippers in a 103-101 win at the Intuit Dome.
The Warriors still have destiny in their own hands
Playing without young stars Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, it was Alex Caruso who put the Thunder in front with a corner three that rimmed in with just under two minutes remaining. Neither team scored a field-goal for the over the final possessions, allowing OKC to claim their 59th victory of the season.
The loss pushes the Clippers back down to the eight-seed and a full game behind the Warriors as the conclusion to the regular season draws near. The Minnesota Timberwolves reclaim hold of the seven-seed, sitting just half a game behind Golden State.
The Warriors do have the tie-break over the Timberwolves after a 3-1 head-to-head record earlier in the season, but Minnesota does have the easiest remaining schedule left of any team in the Western Conference.
In another Sunday game that could have big implications on the final West standings, the Denver Nuggets got a crucial 116-111 victory over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. While still without 3x MVP Nikola Jokic, star guard Jamal Murray went for 39 points and seven assists to end Houston's winning-streak at nine.
The third-seed Nuggets are now just a game behind the two-seed Rockets, with the Los Angeles Lakers a game further back in fourth. Time is almost out for Golden State to try and claim home-court advantage for the first-round of the playoffs, but they are still an outside chance of catching the fifth-seed Memphis Grizzlies who sit two games ahead.
The Warriors should be less concerned about trying to move up in the standings, and more so about keeping the Timberwolves and Clippers at Bay to ensure they don't end up in the Play-In Tournament. Golden State are 0-3 in Play-In games since its inception, having been eliminated in 2021 (despite having two opportunities) and in 2024.