Stephen Curry scored 27 of his 35 points in the second half and Al Horford hit four three-pointers in Golden State's electrifying fourth-quarter comeback as the Warriors advanced in the NBA's play-in tournament with a 126-121 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Curry's seventh three-pointer broke a tie with 50.4 seconds left for the 10th-seeded Warriors, who erased a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night (Thursday AEST).

Golden State finished on a 16-6 run and held Kawhi Leonard scoreless in the fourth until the final 16 seconds.

The Warriors are now one game from another playoff berth, despite going 37-45 in the regular season.

Golden State travel to face Phoenix on Friday, with the winners to play defending champions Oklahoma City in the first round.

Leonard scored 21 points for the Clippers, who missed the playoffs for the first time since 2022. Bennedict Mathurin led Los Angeles with 23 points and Darius Garland had 21 points and eight assists.

The Clippers led 98-85 with 9:53 to play, but 38-year-old Curry led Golden State's comeback alongside Kristaps Porzingis (20 points) and 39-year-old Horford.

Golden State got a classic second-half barrage from Curry, who returned only five games ago from a 27-game absence with a knee injury. He scored 16 points in a six-minute span of the third quarter to keep the Warriors in it.

After Horford hit three three-pointers down the stretch in the fourth quarter, Gui Santos's lay-up with 2:45 to play trimmed the Clippers' lead to 115-114. Horford's fourth three-pointer put the Warriors up 117-115 with 2:12 left.

In Philadelphia, Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points and V.J. Edgecombe added 19 points and 11 rebounds as the 76ers weathered the absence of Joel Embiid to beat the Orlando Magic 109-97 and secure the No.7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Sixers moved on to a first-round series that begins on Sunday in Boston.

Desmond Bane and the Magic aren't done yet. They will host Charlotte on Friday night, with the winners earning the No.8 seed in the East and a first-round match-up with Detroit.

Embiid had an emergency appendectomy last week. While the 76ers haven't given a timetable for his return, the two-time scoring champion returned on Wednesday, surprising teammates in the locker room and watching the game from the bench.

Maxey, named an Eastern Conference All-Star starter for the first time, scored seven straight points late in the fourth to give the Sixers some breathing room.

Andre Drummond filled the void left by Embiid with 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

Bane, who averaged 20.1 points and played all 82 games, carried Orlando's offence with 34 points.