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Clippers host Warriors in crucial regular-season finale

April 11, 2026

After blowing their first chance at securing their playoff future, the Clippers are down to their last chance to control who and when they will play their first Play-In Tournament game.

And even then, they aren’t completely in charge.

The Clippers lost to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, 116-97, in the battle for the No. 8 seed, leaving both teams at 41-40. Portland’s two victories against the Clippers evened the regular-season series and the Trail Blazers’ better conference record gives them the edge for the No. 8 seed.

The Clippers, currently the No. 9 seed, now must beat 10th-seeded Golden State Warriors on Sunday at Intuit Dome and hope for a Portland loss against the Sacramento Kings (22-59) to avoid the longer route to the NBA playoffs.

If the Trail Blazers win and the Clippers lose, Portland will secure the No. 8 seed and the Clippers will need to win two Play-In games to earn a first-round matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the best team in the NBA.

It’s currently trending toward a Warriors-Clippers do-or-die game Wednesday at Intuit Dome.

“I mean, we just got to do it the Clippers’ way, the hard way every time. Never easy,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters in Portland. “We are still in it and we’re OK. And like I said, they (Trail Blazers) beat us. They’re a good team and Tiago (Splitter, Portland’s interim coach) has done a hell of a job this season filling in. They played better than us.”

The Clippers overcame a 20-point deficit against Portland and took a brief two-point lead before running out of steam. The Trail Blazers used a 25-3 run in the fourth quarter to finish them off.

Despite the finish, Lue said the Clippers showed resilience and character against Portland, traits they need against the Warriors, who could have four-time NBA champion Steph Curry back in the lineup. Curry recently returned after missing 27 games because of a knee injury but seemingly twisted his ankle in a loss to the Kings on Friday.

“We just got to go back to the drawing board, get ready for Sunday and then into the Play-In knowing we have to win two games,” Lue said of the regular-season finale and their first postseason game.

“We’ve been worse, trust me. We’ve been worse. Starting 6-21 and getting to the place where we’re at right now, we can’t hang our head,” Lue added. “I thought we gave the fight we needed to give. We just can’t dig ourselves into those bigger holes, especially against a good team on the road.”

Lue played his starters heavy minutes against Portland. Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points in 38 minutes, Darius Garland played 41 minutes and Brook Lopez was on the floor for 37 minutes. Yet, the coach doesn’t play to rest any of them against the Warriors and save them for their first Play-in game Tuesday or Wednesday.

“When you fight back, take the lead by two, like you said, you’re probably exhausted at that point, just trying to get back in the game. But it’s nothing to hang our heads about. They kicked our butt and now we got to be ready to go on Sunday,” Lue said.

Golden State at Clippers

When: 5:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Intuit Dome

TV/radio: FDSN SoCal, KTLA (Ch. 5)/AM 570

Orange County Register

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Clippers host Warriors in crucial regular-season finale

Golden State at Clippers

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