LOS ANGELES: James Harden scored 39 points as the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Golden State Warriors 124-119 in overtime to clinch the final playoff spot in a thrilling last day of the NBA regular season on Sunday.
Harden’s superb display in San Francisco helped the Clippers bag the fifth seed in the Western Conference and sets up a first-round postseason series with the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets.
The 35-year-old Harden’s points tally included two crucial back-to-back three-pointers in overtime which ultimately proved decisive in a back-and-forth duel that saw the lead change hands 23 times.
The defeat for Golden State means the Warriors must now secure their place in the playoffs via the four-team play-in tournament starting this week, hosting Memphis on Tuesday.
Harden, meanwhile, praised the Clippers’ composure in closing out victory in front of the Warriors’ vociferous home support.
“We knew it was gonna be a hostile environment, and the main goal was just to win the game,” Harden told ESPN. “Whether it’s scoring, whether it’s playmaking...it’s whatever it takes at this point.”
The win was the Clippers’ eighth straight victory to close out the regular season, ensuring they will enter the playoffs as the form team in the Western Conference after a campaign where few gave them much hope.
“We know we’re a good team and we’re excited to show the world that we’re a good team,” Harden said.
Harden was backed with 33 points from Kawhi Leonard while Ivica Zubac added 22.
Stephen Curry led Golden State’s scoring with 36 points while Jimmy Butler added 30 points.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr praised the Clippers performance after a gripping contest.
“That was a big-time basketball game — they’re one of the best teams in the NBA, and so are we,” Kerr said. “It was a great, great game — high-level stuff, stars being stars. We came up short but not for lack of effort.
“There was a lot of great execution, and lot of stuff that was very impressive. But we couldn’t quite pull it off.”
In other games on Sunday, Denver clinched the fourth seed in the West with a 126-111 victory over the second-seeded Houston Rockets.
The win capped a tumultuous week for the Nuggets, who fired head coach Michael Malone on Tuesday with the playoffs beckoning in a move that stunned the NBA.
Denver were always in control of Sunday’s clash, leading by as many as 36 points in the fourth quarter after taking the lead midway through the first period.
Denver’s interim coach David Adelman reserved praise for Serbian star Nikola Jokic, who finished a regular season campaign in which he averaged a triple double with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
“I’ve been around special players, I’ve never seen any player like him,” Adelman said.
“The work he puts in away from it. Just how systematic he is, professional, no wasted steps. He is absolutely the most impressive basketball player I’ve ever seen.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves meanwhile snaffled sixth place in the West — the final automatic playoff berth — with a 116-105 defeat of the Utah Jazz.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch paid tribute to his team’s effort in muscling their way into the playoffs.
“I’m super proud of their body of work this year,” Finch said. “We didn’t make a big trade in the middle of the season to sort thing out, or fire coaches to try to sort things out — they sorted it out themselves. Those guys made the right adjustments and sacrifices and figured who they needed to be as a team. All credit to them.”
The win means the Timberwolves will face the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
