PHOENIX — The Suns, along with Charlotte, Orlando and Golden State, will be in win-or-go-home matchups Friday as the play-in tournament comes to a close and sees two teams grab the last two available spots on the playoff bracket.
The Phoenix Suns host the Golden State Warriors at Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday. The winner will go on to face the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, on Friday on ABC15.
A second game will see Charlotte go to Orlando, with the winner facing Detroit in the East.
Play-in past performances
This season's play-in tournament marks Phoenix's first time in the event. The other three remaining teams have all been there at least once before.
Golden State is in for the fourth time, Charlotte for the third time and Orlando for a second time. (Philadelphia and Portland, who have already advanced, were in the play-in for a second time in their histories.)
Golden State is 2-3 in play-in games. Orlando is 1-1, Charlotte is 1-2 and Phoenix is 0-1.
Charlotte at Orlando, Friday, 7:30 p.m. (Prime Video)
Season series: Charlotte, 3-1.
Betting line: Charlotte by 3.5.
At stake: The winner moves on to play No. 1 Detroit in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, starting Sunday. The loser is out of the playoffs.
Outlook: There's a lot to unpack here. LaMelo Ball is coming off a game where he made the winning shot, took out Bam Adebayo and was told a day later by the league that he should have been ejected from the contest. Orlando lost the last three meetings between the teams by a combined 61 points and has been, to put it kindly, erratic all season. Charlotte won the first two games in Orlando this season; no team has gone 3-0 or better on the road against the Magic — excluding the bubble year — in a season since Detroit in 2006-07. Charlotte's Miles Bridges has played in more regular-season games (501) than any other active player with no playoff appearances. He could end that streak on Friday.
Golden State at Phoenix, Friday, 10 p.m. (Prime Video)
Season series: Golden State, 3-1.
Betting line: Phoenix by 2.5.
At stake: The winner moves on to play No. 1 Oklahoma City in the Western Conference quarterfinals, starting Sunday. The loser is out of the playoffs.
Outlook: Golden State won the first meeting by 11, a game where Phoenix got down by 25 but had the ball with a chance to make it a two-possession game with three minutes left. The other games were decided by one, three and four points. The Warriors are coming in with a nothing-to-lose vibe and with good reason; they were injury-plagued all year, finished 37-45 and made clear for the last month that they were just getting ready for an inevitable play-in tournament run. Phoenix blew away most preseason expectations by winning 45 games — but now need to beat the game's best shooter ever in Stephen Curry to avoid becoming the first team to go 0-2 at home in a play-in tournament.
