SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole embraced one another as the Chase Center crowd erupted and drowned out the sound of the final buzzer.
The Warriors had done it; they’re going to the playoffs for the first time in two seasons.
Golden State clinched its spot in the postseason Saturday after Thompson hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter en route to a 111-107 thrilling comeback win over the Utah Jazz.
In what was the team’s most important game of the final stretch, with seeding implications on the line, Thompson led the Warriors on an 18-0 run, with Poole nailing a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a two-point advantage — their first lead of the game — with about 3:30 left in the game.
With the Warriors up by one, Rudy Gobert made a critical turnover, throwing the ball out of bounds with about 20 seconds remaining.
Poole hit a pair of decisive free throws to give the Warriors a three-point lead. And Draymond Green sealed the deal with a pair of free throws of his own.
“It was amazing, what a performance,” coach Steve Kerr said after the win, which snapped a four-game losing streak.
The Warriors took a timeout when they were down by 16 with a little less than 9:30 remaining. During the break, Green energized the team.
“We felt like we had enough time, but we didn’t have much momentum, and I was just amazed by the skill of Klay and Jordan, the emotion and passion from Draymond and the methodical defense and energy from Andrew [Wiggins] and Otto [Porter Jr.] and that group down the stretch was great, Gary [Payton II] as well,” Kerr said. “So unbelievable performance down the stretch from our guys.”
The Warriors were able to win the game thanks to their perimeter shooting in the second half. They went 12-of-26 (or 46.2%) from three-point range, while limiting the Jazz to 6-of-22 (27.3%) from three in the final two quarters.
“It just took heart and will to lock in and get stop after stop,” Payton said. “Once we get them going defensively, it is hard to stop us, but [we] have to want to do it every play.”
Thompson looked like the player Warriors fans have come to adore, going 8-for-17 from beyond the arc, making six of those threes in the second half. He finished with a team-high 36 points and became the seventh all-time leading scorer for the Warriors, surpassing Jeff Mullins (12,547 career points) in the game’s first half.
Poole, who made six threes, continued his scoring binge, finishing with 31 points in what was his 16th consecutive game of scoring at least 20 points.
Meanwhile, Green finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The Warriors had looked discombobulated in the second quarter, during which the Jazz went on a 16-0 run and led by as many as 21 points.
Poole helped reinvigorate the Warriors, scoring Golden State’s last 11 points of the second quarter. However, untimely turnovers and fouls helped the Jazz secure a 58-45 lead heading into the locker rooms.
“We didn’t stick to our coverages,” Payton said of the team’s issues in the first half. “We gave up too many easy threes, they knocked them down. In the second half, we adjusted to it and made it difficult for them to get threes off.”
This was the Warriors’ largest comeback victory of the second and marked the 14th time Golden State had overcome a double-figure deficit to win.
With the victory, the Warriors avoided another play-in tournament and can be seeded no worse than sixth.
Saturday’s game was a possible preview to a first-round matchup. But with just over a week remaining in the regular season, the Western Conference seeding, outside of the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies holding the top two spots, respectively, remains murky.
The Warriors (49-29) are currently in third place — one game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Warriors, who are playing without Stephen Curry for the remainder of the regular season (sprained left foot ligament), will hit the road Sunday to play the Sacramento Kings. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
