Stephen Curry’s 36 points, 12/20 shooting, 6 assists and 4 interceptions allowed the Warriors to overcome a tenacious Magic to return to victory (121-115).

In the wake of Franz Wagner (25 points) and thanks to a sloppy Golden State defense, the Magic quickly took a nine-point lead (11-2). Stephen Curry, well supported by an αggressive Andrew Wiggins, however, allowed the Warriors to take the lead after the first quarter (30-28). The zone defense of Steve Kerr’s me𝚗 limits Orlando to 37% on shots, but the Warriors do not take advantage of it. Paolo Banchero (27 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists) shoots 8 of the Magic’s 15 free throws, and at the break, the two teams are back to back (55-55).

We had to wait until the middle of the third quarter to see Golden State make the break. The trio Stephen Curry – Klay Thompson – Brandin Podziemski launches a 13-5 which puts them at +8 (87-79). On the verge of breakdown, the Magic does not break. The Wagner brothers score 11 points to respond with a 14-5 which gives Orlando the advantage (93-92).

Klay Thompson (15 points) stopped the bleeding with a long shot, before Stephen Curry and Jonathan Kuminga (19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) took matters into their own hands. They scored 16 points in the last five minutes to give the Warriors a nine-point lead. Despite several lost balls and a burst from Paolo Banchero, Golden State held on and ended its series of three consecutive defeats.

Stephen Curry’s 15 seconds of madness to end the half. Clumsy from a distance in the first half but αggressive towards the circle, Stephen Curry scored his first winning shot of the match on a 3+1 3 seconds from the buzzer causing a foul from Jalen Suggs, hypnotized with a crossover followed by a step back. While the Chase Center had not yet recovered from the action, Curry forgot his opposite, Gary Harris, and the latter found himself alone in the corner to respond with a 3-pointer to buzzer which air-conditioned the entire room!

Too many lost balls for the Magic. Orlando held off the Warriors for three quarters of the match, but lost seven balls in the last quarter, allowing Stephen Curry and Golden State to pull away for good. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, their team’s top scorers, lost five of their seven balls. The Magic had nevertheless won the bαttle of the 3-points (14 to 39% against 13 to 37%), the bαttle of the rebound (41 to 36), the bαttle of the racket (54 to 46) but they made decisive errors in “money time”.

Gary Payton II injured again. While trying to pass over a screen from Paolo Banchero, Gary Payton II injured his left leg. He left the field and returned to the locker room holding his thigh. It was only his second game after missing the previous 13.

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