The Golden State Warriors headed to Amway Arena to face the Orlando Magic tonight, after a happy plane flight to the home of the Happiest Place On Earth following a comeback win in Miami.
Backup guard Leandro Barbosa was ruled out with a sprained right knee and starting center Andrew Bogut was listed as “probable”. The Magic have been hampered by a myriad of injuries, most notably Bay Area product and first-round draft pick Aaron Gordon, due to a broken foot.
David Lee was still out for the Warriors with the strained right hamstring.
FIRST QUARTER
The Warriors ended the last game in Miami clicking on all cylinders and they came out that way to start against the Magic.
Harrison Barnes started things off right after the tip with a backdoor cut rewarded by a Bogut assist. Then Bogut showed off his skills again, steal an entry pass and saving it behind-the-back, right-handed, while falling out of bounds on the sideline. Stephen Curry retrieved the ensuing free ball and delivered an assist to Barnes on the break.
Klay Thompson got three scores in a row with a right-handed driving layup, then a touchdown pass to Draymond Green on a defensive rebound, then a jumper on the usual high action with Bogut, although Bogut delivered the ball a little deeper in Thompson’s cut, around the free throw line.
All of a sudden, the Warriors were up 10-0 with 9:48 to go. Magic coach Jacque Vaughn had no choice but to call timeout. As Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle noted, the Dubs hadn’t allowed a field goal since 9:10 remaining against the Heat last night, spanning 11 minutes and 22 seconds of zero field goals allowed.
But Orlando put an end to that streak quickly, as the Magic scored six straight before Curry got a backdoor cut and basket to trickle in via Bogut again.
Curry then hit three three-pointers, two of them influenced by Green, one via a screen from him and the other a pass from Green after a loose ball was gathered inside and swung to a wide open Curry, who had snuck into the corner unmolested.
Simmons reported that two Magic players yelled an expletive when they realized Curry had a wide open shot.
Curry also included Marreese Speights in his escapades, dishing a behind-the-back pass to Speights, who was near the free throw line, and Speights drilled the shot, as we’ve been accustomed to seeing.
Curry added a deep trey to give him 14 points and 3 assists.
With a little under two minutes ago, Shaun Livingston finally checked in for Steph, and Barnes got a putback dunk in traffic on a Livingston drive and miss.
Brandon Rush also played with the second unit that included Andre Iguodala.
The Warriors were shooting 52%, but the Magic went on an 11-5 run and Nikola Vucevic crashed the boards with 5 rebounds, and Golden State was up 31-27 heading into the second frame.
SECOND QUARTER
Livingston got things started with a nice dunk going baseline and Barnes was in rhythm with a trey, but the Magic were keeping it close by getting to the line a lot. They would go 12-for-17 from the charity stripe by the end of the first half, compared to the Warriors’ 6-for-11.
An Iguodala blocked shot and an assist by Andre leading the break, to Livingston, pushed the lead to 46-39 with 6:45 to go.
Curry returned with about six minutes remaining and went to work again, adding 11 more points, including this crossover-three-pointer against the retreating Victor Oladipo:
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That made it 57-43 Warriors with 3:25 to go. Curry had made all five treys this game, giving him 13-for-16 from downtown over the last two games in Florida.
Thompson increased the chemistry with Bogut with the action on running off of Bogut’s high post and receiving the ball inside the circle for the second time on the night, and Barnes didn’t miss on five tries from the field.
Curry tried a push shot on the last possession inside the paint, but it was short. Bogut, however, got the putback and put the Warriors up 63-50 after one half.
Curry was at 25 points on 8-for-10 from the field, 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 3 assists. Barnes had 12 points and Bogut added 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Tobias Harris led Orlando with 12 points and Vucevic added 11.
Stay tuned for the second half…
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