Jalen Green scored 36 points and the Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors 111-96 on Friday night to clinch the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Phoenix will now face top-seeded Oklahoma City in the first round.
Green, a 24-year-old guard who missed 50 contests after a hamstring injury in training camp, matched a career high with eight 3-pointers and shot 14 of 20 from the field. He added six rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocked shots in one of the sharpest performances of his season. On Tuesday, he had already carried the Suns with 35 points in their Play-In loss to Portland, though he missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds that would have given Phoenix the lead.
“I just felt good all night,” Green said after a game in which Devin Booker found him in the corner again and again. Booker was direct about what he saw. “Hell, yeah,” he said when asked if Green was ready for this stage, then added, “He stepped up to the test.”
The night mattered because Green’s season has been a long adjustment. He arrived as part of the summer blockbuster trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets, then had to learn a new system, new teammates and how to fit with Booker and Phoenix’s ball movement. For much of the year, he had not quite found his place. On Friday, he did.
Coach Jordan Ott put it simply: “Sometimes the road’s not always the one that you choose.” Collin Gillespie was just as clear afterward. “Extremely happy for him,” he said. “He deserves it.” For the Suns, the win sends them into a first-round matchup with Oklahoma City carrying a guard who finally looked fully himself when it mattered most.
