If the Golden State Warriors stay healthy, Klay Thompson sees a clear path to another title this year.
With a single game of the regular season remaining, the defending champion Warriors have not yet booked their playoff spot – in large part due to the key absences they have had this year.
Stephen Curry has been restricted to 55 games so far, while Andrew Wiggins will not add to his 37 games before the postseason, although he is then expected back.
Still, the Warriors have their destiny in their hands: they will avoid the play-in tournament by winning at the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
That is due to an impressive 119-97 victory at the Sacramento Kings on Friday, only their 10th road win of the year.
It is not a record that suggests the Warriors will be among the leading contenders in the playoffs, but Thompson is expecting improvement in the coming weeks.
"It always feels great to win," he said after making five threes and scoring 29 points. "I think it'll click even more when Andrew's in the lineup, because he's such an important player to what we do.
"We still have another level to reach, so I think we should just keep staying humble and working hard, and we'll get there. I know we will."
Health is a key factor, but it is not the only one; the Warriors rank third in scoring (118.5 points per game) but 22nd in defense (117.3 points).
"I always say we have to value the ball more, take great shots and communicate on defense," added Thompson.
"Do those three things, and I don't see a team who can beat us in a seven-game series when we're healthy. If we do those three things going forward, I think we'll be in a great position to repeat."
Thompson's fitness at least has not been a concern this year.
He missed two and a half years through injury before returning for last season's title run, and he is back to somewhere near his best in 2022-23, scoring 21.9 points per game and leading the NBA in made threes (295).
"I've played a full season. I've missed like 13 games or whatever, but to play in almost 70 games is a huge milestone for me," Thompson said.
"To shake off the early season rust and have the shooting year I did is even more impressive.
"I give myself a pat on the back for those years of so much hard work when nobody was watching. Those were really tough times for me, and I persevered and still am hungry to be even greater than I was."
Next, though, focus turns to a must-win game in Portland, where the Warriors are 2-7 since 2017-18 – their fourth-worst road record against any opponent in that span.
Thompson added: "Anything can happen in this league, but we've got to go up there and just take care of business and play with that Warriors brand of basketball that's made us the dynasty we are."
NBA: Cavaliers, Mavericks win to even series
Donovan Mitchell scored 16 of his 29 points in the third quarter and the Cleveland Cavaliers answered with a blowout of their own in a 118-94 win over the Boston Celtics to even their second-round playoff series at one game apiece on Thursday.
Evan Mobley had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Caris LeVert added 21 points off the bench for the Cavaliers, who won their first road playoff game in five tries this postseason.
Cleveland lost the series opener on Tuesday by 25 points but seized the lead in the third quarter with Mitchell sinking four of five from 3-point range. He hit three straight baskets early in the fourth, including a 28-foot, banked 3 to make it 95-80.
Boston never got the deficit under double digits after that.
Jayson Tatum scored 25 points and Jayen Brown added 19 but combined to shoot 14 for 34, including 2 for 11 from 3-point range for the Celtics, who were 8 for 35 from beyond the arc.
Derrick White was limited to 10 points and misfired on seven of eight from deep after he had 25 points in Game 1.
Boston center Kristaps Porzingis missed his third straight game with a strained calf muscle.
Mobley started at center in place of Jarrett Allen, who has missed the last five games with bruised ribs.
Mavericks beat Thunder to even series
Luka Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a bounce-back performance as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-110, to even their second-round series at a game apiece.
P.J. Washington had 29 points with seven 3-pointers and grabbed 11 rebounds and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 points off the bench for Dallas, who will host Game 3 on Saturday.
After he was limited to 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting in Game 1, Doncic was 11 of 21 from the field and 5 for 8 from 3-point range in this one.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Jalen Williams added 20 points for the Thunder, who lost for the first time in six playoff games and allowed over 100 points for the first time this postseason.
Gilgeous-Alexander's layup with 7:13 remaining drew the Thunder within 106-101, but Doncic hit a pair of jumpers and Washington dunked to make it 112-101 with 4:14 to play.
NBA: Cavaliers, Mavericks win to even series at 1
Donovan Mitchell scored 16 of his 29 points in the third quarter and the Cleveland Cavaliers answered with a blowout of their own in a 118-94 win over the Boston Celtics to even their second-round playoff series at one game apiece on Thursday.
Evan Mobley had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Caris LeVert added 21 points off the bench for the Cavaliers, who won their first road playoff game in five tries this postseason.
Cleveland lost the series opener on Tuesday by 25 points but seized the lead in the third quarter with Mitchell sinking 4 of 5 from 3-point range. He hit three straight baskets early in the fourth, including a 28-foot, banked 3 to make it 95-80.
Boston never got the deficit under double digits after that.
Jayson Tatum scored 25 points and Jayen Brown added 19 but combined to shoot 14 for 34, including 2 for 11 from 3-point range for the Celtics, who were 8 for 35 from beyond the arc.
Derrick White was limited to 10 points and misfired on 7 of 8 from deep after he had 25 points in Game 1.
Boston center Kristaps Porzingis missed his third straight game with a strained calf muscle.
Mobley started at center in place of Jarrett Allen, who has missed the last five games with bruised ribs.
Mavericks beat Thunder to even series
Luka Dončić had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a bounce-back performance as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-110, to even their second-round series at a game apiece.
P.J. Washington had 29 points with seven 3-pointers and grabbed 11 rebounds and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 points off the bench for Dallas, which hosts Game 3 on Saturday.
After he was limited to 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting in Game 1, Doncic was 11 of 21 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range in this one.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Jalen Williams added 20 points for the Thunder, who lost for the first time in six playoff games and allowed over 100 points for the first time.
Gilgeous-Alexander's layup with 7:13 remaining drew the Thunder within 106-101, but Doncic hit a pair of jumpers and Washington dunked to make it 112-101 with 4:14 to play.
Suns fire coach Frank Vogel after first-round sweep
The Phoenix Suns have fired head coach Frank Vogel, the franchise announced Thursday, ending his tenure after one disappointing season.
Vogel’s Suns failed to live up to lofty expectations after investing almost all their future draft capital in acquiring veteran All-Stars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.
The Suns went 49-33 this season and needed a late 10-4 stretch to avoid the play-in tournament as the Western Conference’s No. 6 seed. Phoenix was eliminated from the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves in a first-round sweep.
Former title-winning Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer is atop the Suns’ list of candidates, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported. Vogel’s successor will face championship-level expectations without the ability to dramatically upgrade the roster.
“We are here to win a championship and last season was way below our expectations,” general manager James Jones said in a statement.
“We will continue to evaluate our operation and make the necessary changes to reach our championship-calibre goals. We all take accountability, and it’s my job, along with [CEO Josh Bartelstein] and ownership, to build a championship team.”
The Suns implemented a win-now strategy when, at the behest of new owner Matt Ishbia, they acquired Durant last February.
Phoenix doubled down on the all-or-nothing route by acquiring Beal in the offseason, putting the team over the second apron of the luxury tax and hindering their ability to improve the roster around Durant, Beal and Devin Booker.
The inflexibility left the Suns without a traditional point guard this season and unable to make an impactful trade deadline acquisition.
Despite having three All-Star scorers, the Suns ranked 10th in the NBA by scoring 116.2 points per game, not enough to overcome their mediocre defence.
Durant, 35, was the most productive and available of the Suns’ big three, playing 75 games and averaging 27.1 points on his typical efficient shooting.
Booker also scored 27.1 points per game and set a career-high in assists at 6.9 per contest, but he was limited to 68 games.
Beal failed to live up to his contract – which still has three years and $161million remaining – by averaging 18.2 points over 53 games.
Beyond the individual numbers, the Suns’ stars failed to create a team greater than the sum of its parts. Despite having plenty of firepower, Phoenix ranked 23rd this season by shooting 40.6 percent in clutch situations (last five minutes and the game within six points).
Vogel has a career 480-422 record (.532) with four teams. He won a championship in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers, who are undergoing their own coaching search after firing Darvin Ham.
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