Jalen Green hits 8 3s, puts Suns on his back to beat Warriors, clinch playoffs

Golden State may have Stephen Curry, but Jalen Green stole the show in the Phoenix Suns’ win over the Warriors on Friday.

Jalen Green swished a 3-pointer to get the Suns going. Phoenix leads the Warriors 50-45 at halftime.

Here are some highlights from the first quarter! pic.twitter.com/pH49IQvr4g

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) April 18, 2026

Green put on an absolute clinic, scoring 36 points on 20 shots. The Suns guard shot 8 for 14 from 3-point range and was 6 of 6 from inside the arc.

The 24-year-old shot 70% in the game, which was a season-high and the third-best shooting night of his career.

But it wasn’t just efficient shooting. Every time the Warriors made a push to bring the game close, Green was there to nail a dagger.

He had six points off two 3s in the first quarter and finished the first half with a respectable 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a 3 to end the first half that extended the Suns’ lead to five.

The second quarter wasn’t pretty for the Suns, but Jalen Green certainly answered the bell with his tough 3-pointer to end the half.

Suns-Warriors is back in action for the second half. pic.twitter.com/qSyaHtFRrg

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) April 18, 2026

Phoenix led by as many as 18 points in the first half, and Golden State had cut the deficit to two points before Green’s 3 to end the half.

The Suns guard added 13 points in the third quarter on 5-of-7 shooting and finished the night with nine points in the final frame, missing only one shot.

On a night when Devin Booker couldn’t get it going from deep (shot 0 for 4) he found his success driving to the hoop and getting his teammates involved.

Booker finished with 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting, with nine made free throws, eight assists and six rebounds.

Jordan Goodwin made his presence felt very early with three steals in the first few minutes. He finished the night with 19 points (7-of-11 shooting), nine rebounds, six steals and two assists.

For the Warriors, Curry struggled all night with Goodwin giving him zero space to work. He had 17 points (4-of-16 shooting), four rebounds and four assists.

Brandin Podziemski led the way for Golden State with 23 points (9-of-17 shooting), 10 rebounds and a steal.

Draymond Green was mostly held in check with five points, six assists and two rebounds.

Both Booker and Green were ejected in the final minutes, but it had no effect on the game.

With the win, the Suns advance to the NBA playoffs as the No. 8 seed and will face the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The series starts in Oklahoma City on Sunday with Game 1 at 12:30 p.m. on ABC. Game 2 will be on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN before the series comes to Phoenix for Games 3 and 4.

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