San Francisco – The Golden State Warriors are living up to the idea of “the engine that could.” Despite a string of injuries, the team’s younger players are stepping up in a critical stretch. Gui Santos delivered a breakout performance, scoring a career-high 31 points to lead Golden State to a 109–106 win over the Brooklyn Nets, a result that secured the Warriors’ spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament as the No. 10 seed.
In the closing minutes, Draymond Green made a key defensive rebound and calmly knocked down two free throws to help seal the victory. A late turnover by Josh Minott and a defensive breakdown capped a disappointing finish for Brooklyn, which struggled to execute down the stretch.
For Golden State, the win couldn’t have come at a better time. Returning from a grueling road trip, the Warriors showed resilience and composure, leaning on emerging contributors to keep their postseason hopes alive.
“It looked like a team that was playing our seventh game in 11 days, seven cities,” said Steve Kerr. “These games always terrify me when you travel, long road trip, a bunch of 3 a.m. arrivals in cities, and you come home, and your time clock isn’t right, and your body. It just felt like we were running in mud most of the game. Kind of expected some of that but I was proud of the guys that came through in the fourth and found their footing.”
It was a sluggish start on both sides, but the Nets, despite entering on a losing streak, found momentum late in the first half to take a 58–50 lead into the break. Ziaire Williams led Brooklyn with 19 points, while Jalen Wilson added 15.
The Golden State responded after halftime, finding their rhythm and mounting a strong second-half push to swing the game. Santos headlined the effort with a breakout performance, scoring a career-high 31 points, his first 30-point game and third career outing with 20 or more. He also set a new career high with 11 field goals made.
Brandin Podziemski added 22 points, marking his second straight 20-point performance and his 11th of the season. He has now scored in double figures in 27 of his last 33 games, including 17 of the last 19, and matched a season high with eight made free throws.
Meanwhile, Gary Payton II continued his efficient stretch, finishing with 10 points and extending his streak to 16 consecutive made field goals across multiple games. The run is the second-longest in the NBA this season, trailing only Rudy Gobert, and marks one of the longest by a Warrior in decades. Payton II has now scored in double figures in a career-best nine straight games, averaging 14.0 points during that span.
“It’s always hard when you travel a lot, play a lot of games like we did last week,” Santos said. “Now we came back, we have one day in between the games at home.”
“He’s been this player for a very long time,” said Payton on Santos. “Now he just gets 30-plus minutes and he can show it, so I always knew he can do this, and it’s very, very fun to watch and also play with him.”
Photo by Warriors/Twitter
