No. 4 Warriors Outduel No. 5 Stars At Home

The Santa Cruz Warriors (21-14) beat the Salt Lake City Stars (20-15), 113-111, on Tuesday evening at Kaiser Permanente Arena in their first home playoff game since the 2018-19 season. Two-way guard Pat Spencer came off the bench to lead Santa Cruz in scoring with 20 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Two-way center Usman Garuba followed closely with a double-double, notching 18 points and 19 rebounds to set a new franchise record in postseason rebounds. Forward Javan Johnson added 18 points and guard Kendric Davis finished with 14 points and 11 assists. Forward Darius Bazley, on assignment from Utah, led both teams in scoring with 30 points, adding 12 rebounds and five assists. Center Kenneth Lofton Jr., also on assignment from Utah, followed with 19 points, and two-way guard Johnny Juzang added 18 points and seven rebounds. Santa Cruz opened the contest with back-to-back threes to take an early lead before the Stars found their footing and built a 21-10 advantage. The Warriors offense narrowed the gap late in the frame to close the quarter trailing 25-20. The Sea Dubs carried their offensive momentum into the second quarter as three three-pointers from Johnson gave Santa Cruz a 37-32 advantage. The Warriors maintained the lead throughout the remainder of the half to enter the break leading 52-46. Salt Lake City cut the deficit early in the third quarter, tying the game at 59 and pushing ahead to own a 63-59 lead. The Sea Dubs quickly responded with eight points from Rowe and back-to-back three-pointers from Davis to lead by as many as 12 points before closing the frame with an 85-76 advantage. The Stars came out strong in the fourth quarter, clawing back with an 8-0 run to regain a 90-89 lead with less than eight minutes remaining. Back-to-back three-pointers from Spencer helped the Sea Dubs take a 112-106 lead down the final stretch. Salt Lake City fought to close the gap to two points with 40 seconds remaining in the contest, but the Warriors hung on to secure a 113-111 first-round playoff victory. The Santa Cruz Warriors will now travel to Stockton to take on the Kings in the Western Conference Semifinals on Thursday, April 4 at 7 p.m. (PT), with the contest streaming on Tubi.

The Santa Cruz Warriors (20-14) swept the Rip City Remix (18-16), 131-123, on Saturday afternoon at Chiles Center to clinch a spot in the NBA G League Playoffs. Forward Gui Santos, on assignment from Golden State, led Santa Cruz with 28 points and added six rebounds. Guard Donovan Williams followed with 20 points and six rebounds, and two-way guard Pat Spencer contributed 18 points and five rebounds off the bench. Guard Kendric Davis notched a double-double with 15 points, 10 assists, and five steals. Forward Kevin Knox II led both teams in scoring with 37 points and seven rebounds and center George Conditt IV collected 15 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Two-way guard Ashton Hagans added 13 points and seven assists and guard Taze Moore closed out the day with 13 points and 10 assists. Santa Cruz opened the contest to take a 14-7 lead, however an offensive push from Rip City with less than three minutes remaining in the frame gave the Remix the lead, 31-26, to close out the quarter. The Sea Dubs cut the deficit to just two points early in the second quarter, until Rip City extended their lead to as many as 16 points, heading into halftime with a 70-54 advantage over the Warriors. The Warriors battled in the third quarter, with seven combined three-pointers from Santos and Williams helping Santa Cruz regain a slim lead ahead of the final frame, 101-99. The Sea Dubs maintained control in the fourth quarter to secure back-to-back wins against the Rip City Remix, 131-123. With their win tonight, the Santa Cruz Warriors have now clinched a spot in the G League Playoffs. Playoffs begin on Tuesday, April 2.