NBA (4/17) | Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns: Win & You’re In
Written by: Varun Sharma
Last Update: Fri Apr 17, 2026, 7:20 pm ET
Read Time: 6 minutes
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Let's talk about the second game on the docket tonight. The Golden State Warriors are taking on the Phoenix Suns for the last spot in this year's NBA Playoffs.
With so much on the line, let's jump right into the game.
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Game Information
Matchup Information
- Location:Mortgage Matchup Center; Phoenix, Arizona
- Date: Friday, April 17th, 2026
- Tipoff: 10:10 PM EST
Key Players
- Stephen Curry (GSW): 30.9 MPG | 26.8 PPG | 3.6 RPG | 4.7 APG
- Devin Booker (PHX): 33.5 MPG | 26.1 PPG | 3.9 RPG | 6.0 APG
Betting Odds
Odds via Lucky Rebel, an industry leader in the sports betting world.
Analysis & Breakdown
Desert Dogs
The Phoenix Suns were the 7th seed going into the play-in tournament, now they're on the brink of elimination. Both teams come into this one on the brink of elimination but the Suns are definitely coming in on their back foot after the way they lost on Tuesday night.
The Suns looked great against Portland, but early foul trouble for Devin Booker really threw off his rhythm. Booker would pick up his 4th foul early in the third quarter and then proceed to shoot just 1-7 in the second half.
Both Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks were phenomenal in their roles, combing for 55 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists. They lead the way offensively, but with Booker completely out of rhythm, it wasn't enough. Booker not only shot terrible from the field, but he shot just 62% from the free throw line.
The Suns rank top 10 in points allowed, opponent effective field goal percentage, opponent 3-point percentage and steals per game. The team is 5th in points scored off turnovers and 6th in second chance points scored. Their kryptonite? Protecting the defensive glass.
Phoenix ranks 27th in opponent offensive rebound rate, 22nd in opponent second chance points and that's what killed them against Portland. The Trailblazers grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, scored 15 second chance points and 21 points off turnovers.
Phoenix needs to limit their turnovers, clear the glass and they can win this game.
Chef Don't Play
If you watched the Warriors first play-in game, you witnessed magic; Steph Curry Magic. The Dubs were down double digits multiple times on Wednesday night and it never deterred the team. Head Coach Steve Kerr declared most of his starters would be on a minutes limit but as soon as this game started, you could feel that go out the window.
Curry played 35 minutes in a game that he was supposed to be hard capped at 30. The Warriors won in one of the most dramatic way possible, capped off another classic Steph Curry deep three ball (see below). Curry finished with 35 points in 35 minutes and he did it on shooting splits of 52/58/80.
The Warriors got big games out of a ton of their vets. Al Horford scored 14 points off the bench, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter in the form of 4 3-pointers. Kristaps Porziņģis finished as the game's second highest scorer, recording 20 points on a very efficient 66.7% shooting.
The young kids came through in a big way too. Gui Santos scored 20 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and even dished out 5 assists. Brandin Podziemski scored 17 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and shot just under 50%.
The Dubs need a similar type of group effort if they hope to make it out of the play-in and into that 8th seed.
STEPHEN CURRY IS COLD BLOODED. pic.twitter.com/5BgdnEUsGd
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) April 16, 2026
Friday Night's Best Bets
Dillon Brooks o5.5 A/R (-120) | Lucky Rebel
If you haven't seen the interview yet, Dillon Brooks has made it clear he wanted this matchup. There's plenty of bad blood between Brooks and this Dubs squad, mostly because they've seen a ton of each other over the last couple year. He's played them 12 times in the postseason, once in the play-in and 27 times in the regular season.
Brooks has cleared this line in all three games against the Dubs this year, averaging: 23.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He finished with 5+ rebounds in all three games and that includes 1.3 offensive rebounds per game.
The Warriors bottom 10 in opponent offensive rebound rate and 27th in offensive rebound rate tis year. Not only are they giving up a ton of boards on the offensive glass, but they put almost no pressure on their opponents' glass.
The Warriors are also coming off a 127 point game and I'm expecting at least a little regression from some of the 'other guys'. That should lead to more rebounding opportunities for Brooks, who's slid to the PF spot for Phoenix.
Golden State is 25th in rebounds allowed to the PF spot and Brooks should be able to take advantage.
Dillon Brooks said he wanted the Warriors to beat the Clippers in the play-in game to set up the Suns' Friday opponent.
When asked why, he said: "Steph and Draymond. That's it. And Steve Kerr."
(They have history, this season and prior) pic.twitter.com/0xsZ8wuMiy
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) April 16, 2026
Devin Booker o27.5 Points (-111) | Lucky Rebel
With all the chatter about Devin Booker being elite on the timeline, I have to put my money where my mouth is. Booker has played in nearly 50 career playoff games, he's averaging 28.8 points per game in the postseason and he's already been to the NBA Finals.
Book's played in a ton of big time games, this one's no different. I'm expecting a ton of usage for the former Kentucky Wildcat and I wouldn't be surprised to see him score 30 tonight.
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