Golden State Warriors officially clinch last play-in spot: Klay Thompson steps up without Stephen Curry

The Golden State Warriors hosted the Utah Jazz at Chase Center and defeated them 118-110 behind a shooting clinic by Klay Thompson to officially clinch the last play-in spot.

Stephen Curry did not play in this game for the Warriors so the other Splash Brother elevated his game. Thompson scored a game-high 32 points while hitting 6 three-pointers. Jonathan Kuminga returned from a 6-game absence and had 21 points with 10 rebounds off the bench. Rookies Trayce Jackson-Davis and Brandin Podziemski each recorded 16 points and 7 boards while Chris Paul finished with 12 points and 9 assists.

The Jazz were without a lot of their key players including Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and Jordan Clarkson, so rookie Keyonte George stepped up with 25 points. Johnny Juzang scored a team-high 27 points off the bench with 7 three-pointers. Collin Sexton had 15 points and 7 assists.

Golden State improves to 43-35 with this win and officially clinched the last play-in spot as Houston has been eliminated from contention. After a scare in March from the Rockets, the veteran Warriors were able to keep their composure and pick up key wins in the midst of the chaos.

This dynasty will now try to make another deep playoff run, but this time they’ll have to win the play-in tournament to earn one of the last playoff spots. The Dubs are currently rolling, going 7-3 over their last 10 games and looking to pick up a statement victory over the Lakers on Tuesday.

Utah drops to 29-49 with this loss and is looking forward to the off-season where they will revamp their roster. They have nothing to play for so this is a good opportunity to give their rookies some quality playing time. The Jazz are on a 12-game losing streak and will face off against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday.