The Warriors’ only path to the Tournament quarterfinals in the NBA season is through Group C in the West..

Warriors strive for In-Season Tournament quarterfinals; Curry’s 35 points propel victory over Spurs. Facing Kings in must-win clash for progression. Group C scenarios unfold; tiebreakers loom

On Friday, the Warriors kept their hopes alive in the NBA In-Season Tournament. Guided by Steph Curry’s 35 points, Golden State narrowly beat the San Antonio Spurs 118-112 at Chase Center, boosting their tournament record to 2-1.

Only topped by the Kings who sit at 3-0, the Warriors currently share the same standing of 2-1 with the Timberwolves in the West Group C.

The winner among these three will progress to the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals, as both the Thunder (1-2) and Spurs (0-4) face elimination.

The Warriors’ last In-Season Tournament game is against the Kings on Tuesday at Golden 1 Center. Victory over Sacramento is necessary for them to move on to the quarterfinals.

Final 📊

Stephen – 35p/3r/6a/1s
Dario – 20p/7r/4a/2s
Klay – 15p/3r/6a/1s
Jonathan – 12p/1r/2a
Andrew – 10p/4r
Moses – 9p/4r/1a
Kevon – 6p/8r/4a/2s
Chris – 5p/5r/10a
Gary – 4p/3r/1s/1b
Trayce – 2p/1b
Brandin – 3r/2a pic.twitter.com/XMDsdLqeW5

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 25, 2023

Here are the possibilities for the Warriors to succeed in the group stage:

Scenario one: If the Warriors defeat the Kings and the Thunder overcome the Timberwolves, both the Warriors and Kings would stand at 3-1.

Golden State will then win the In-Season Tournament head-to-head tiebreaker over Sacramento.

Scenario two: If the Warriors beat the Kings and the Timberwolves win against the Thunder, then the Warriors, Kings, and Timberwolves would all hold a 3-1 record and head-to-head records of 1-1 against each other.

NBA In-Season Tournament West standings update 🏆

– Pelicans sit atop West Group B
– Timberwolves, Suns, Warriors, and Rockets remain alive

For more, download the NBA App: https://t.co/T2ytjrfB0m pic.twitter.com/CuTyWV2Cak

— NBA (@NBA) November 25, 2023

In this case, the Group C winner will be determined by the succeeding tiebreaker series in this order: point differential in the group stage, total points scored in the group stage, 2022-23 regular-season record, and if necessary – a random drawing.

Group C standings and playoff scenarios

With three games down, the Kings lead the pack with the highest plus-29 point differential among the trio, followed by Warriors with plus-5 and Wolves slipping to minus-3.

WEST STANDINGS UPDATE ‼️

Suns win their 6th straight to move to 4th seed!

For more, download the NBA App: https://t.co/oRfhdB8ZfO pic.twitter.com/YCo7hOCyP9

— NBA (@NBA) November 25, 2023

In case of a tie after a point differential, the total points scored in Group C play will decide the rank.

Currently, the Warriors have posted the highest score with 360 points, trailing the Kings with 358 and the Timberwolves with 332 points.

In the wild card scenario, it is improbable for Golden State to advance to the quarterfinals as the West Conference’s wild card.