The last game in the NBA Play-In Tournament for the final spot in the Western Conference bracket comes down to the Warriors and Suns.

The Warriors pulled off a stunning comeback to keep themselves alive for a playoff spot, while the Suns blew a lead at home to force themselves into a must-win game.

The Suns are 3.5-point favorites at home, facing all the pressure to perform in an elimination game against a surging Warriors team.

Warriors vs. Suns prediction, best bet

The Warriors just won’t go down easy, and you have to give credit to their most experienced players — Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis — for grinding out their best win of the season. Three of those players were on minutes limits for an elimination game, but accounted for 69 of their 126 points, including 11 of their 19 made 3s.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr picked the right spots to get what he could out of them, and heaped a ton of praise on his team after the game.

“For one night, we’re us, we’re champions again,” Kerr said after the game. “I know that may sound crazy to everybody out there, it’s a play-in game. I don’t care.”

There’s still plenty of work ahead for the Warriors, however, with a tough Suns team in desperation mode on tap.

The Suns were minutes away from punching their ticket to the playoffs and held an eight-point lead over the Trail Blazers with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter. The Blazers ended the game on a 17-5 run to stun the Suns in their own building.

Betting on the NBA?

The Warriors have been so injured this season that there aren’t really any concrete numbers to lean on in terms of what to expect. Weirdly, all we can say for certain about this team is that they have four players who know how to approach must-win games.

Golden State was able to find just enough offense with Curry off the floor against the Clippers. Whether it was Gui Santos getting inside or Porzingis and Horford capitalizing on ball movement to hit open 3-pointers, the Warriors stayed afloat long enough to let Curry cook in the fourth.

The Suns faltered late because Devin Booker couldn’t provide enough in the fourth quarter to bail them out when it was most necessary. This also hasn’t been a good spot to back the Suns this season: when they were home favorites, they were 15-9 straight up but just 11-13 against the spread.

The Warriors will push the Suns to the brink in the fourth and keep this one within one possession.

The Pick: Warriors +3.5 (-110, bet365)

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.

SACRAMENTO — There’s a reason why the Warriors dubbed this a dress rehearsal.

Rolling out the lineup they hope to use to escape from the play-in, nothing came easy for a group about as close to full strength as the Warriors hope to get heading into the postseason.

Steph Curry survived an early injury scare but was largely kept quiet for his second consecutive game, Kristaps Porzingis turned in one of his poorest shooting efforts of the season and Al Horford made little impact in limited minutes.

In theory, the debut of the three together should have guided Golden State to an easy win over one of the NBA’s worst teams, but it proved to be a struggle to put away the Kings in a 124-118 loss.

It was Kings guard Devin Carter who played a starring role with six 3-pointers for a game-high 29 points. The Warriors were led by two guards not named Curry: Brandin Podziemski with a career-best 30 points and De’Anthony Melton with 17 off the bench.

Curry was held to 11 points in 27 minutes and didn’t re-emerge after going into the tunnel with about five minutes left. Porzingis connected on only four of 12 attempts from the field for 11 points and Horford failed to grab one rebound while scoring 10 points in 17 minutes.

What it means

The game provided coach Steve Kerr his first look at the team with Curry, Porzingis and Horford all healthy. Without the latter two on Tuesday, the Warriors struggled to put the Kings away at home, and despite possessing most of their missing puzzle pieces ran into trouble again.

Turning point

Whatever hopes the Warriors have for this postseason flashed before their eyes only minutes into the game when Carter blitzed Curry at halfcourt. He swiped the ball clean and sent Curry spinning to the ground, visibly shaken up.

All it amounted to, however, was a scare. 

Curry appeared to tweak the same right knee that has kept him out of all but three games since Jan. 30. But after a timeout and some attention from Rick Celebrini, the head of their medical staff, Curry remained in the game. 

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Carter converted a reverse layup on the opening possession of the second half to extend the Kings’ lead to 65-51, their second-largest of the game, but the Warriors went on to score the following 12 points and took an 89-82 advantage into the final period.

Sacramento mounted a 14-2 run to flip a 98-92 Golden State lead into a 106-100 advantage with 5:16 to play, and the Warriors played from behind the rest of the way.

MVP: Brandin Podziemski

For the anticipation behind the debut of Curry, Horford and Porzingis together, the Warriors’ best player was the only one to play all of their 81 games so far.

Podziemski sank a free throw in the final seconds to reach 30 points for the first time in his career.

Stat of the game: 42

In their 81st game of the season, the Warriors used their 42nd different starting lineup.

With Curry, Porzingis and Horford all healthy at the same time for the first time all year, Kerr said before tipoff, “We’ve been looking forward to this.” He brought Horford off the bench and started Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos and Draymond Green alongside Curry and Porzingis.

They will only have one more dress rehearsal before the play-in, and the first didn’t go so well.

Still, there’s a reason why Kerr said the grouping is so “enticing” to Golden State.

“Lot of versatility, ball handling, shooting,” Kerr said. “Obviously Steph negates a lot of spacing issues, but with the spacing that we will have with Kristaps, there’s the potential that it could open things up for Steph, for BP, for Gui and his driving.”

Up next

Golden State gets one more tuneup Sunday against the Clippers, with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m. PT inside the Intuit Dome. After Los Angeles fell to the Blazers in Portland on Friday, the Clippers would be in line to host Golden State in the 9/10 play-in game if the Blazers beat the Kings on Sunday.

For the third and final time this regular season, the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors face each other. They have split the first two games of the season series, with the road team getting the victory in each contest. Sunday’s game will also mark the potential return of Steph Curry.

The two-time NBA MVP is listed as questionable ahead of the game. He has missed more than two months of action due to a runner’s knee condition. He will likely be under a minutes restriction, while the Rockets enter the matchup on a five-game win streak.

Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Preview, Starting Lineups Tonight, Betting Tips and Game Prediction

Odds

Moneyline: Rockets (-165) vs. Warriors (+135)

Spread: Rockets -3.5 (-113) vs. Warriors +3.5 (-106)

Total (O/U): O225.5 (-110), U225.5 (-110)

Note: The odds could change before tipoff.

Betting Tips

• Bet on Kevin Durant to go OVER (-113) 24.5 points. He has scored at least 25 points in three of his last five games.
• Place your money on Steph Curry to score at least 20 points, going OVER (-112). He’s coming back from a two-month absence, so he’ll be under a minutes restriction.
• Alperen Sengun has an over/under of 18.5 points. He has scored 19 points or more three times in his last five. Bet on him to go OVER (-113).

Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Preview

The Rockets (48-29) are getting hot at the right time, gaining a lot of momentum heading into the postseason. They have a chance to improve their seeding, especially after the LA Lakers lost Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to muscle-related injuries for the rest of the season.

Meanwhile, the Warriors (36-41) are on a three-game losing streak. They receive a huge boost in Steph Curry, but they are unlikely to get homecourt advantage for the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Starting Lineups Tonight

Rockets

G – Reed Sheppard | G – Amen Thompson | F – Kevin Durant | F – Jabari Smith Jr. | C – Alperen Sengun

Warriors

G – Steph Curry | G – Brandin Podziemski | F – Gui Santos | F – Draymond Green | C – Kristaps Porzingis

Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Prediction

The Warriors have had the Rockets’ number since last season, including the playoffs. They are 8-6 against Houston, but it’s hard to see them winning on Sunday, even with Steph Curry.

Prediction: Rockets get the 114-107 win.