Magic Can’t Contain Curry

Orlando, FL— After an embarrassing 40-point loss to the Cavaliers on Tuesday evening, the Magic looked to bounce back last night against one of the hottest teams in the NBA, but fell just short to the Warriors 121-115.

Curry’s Historic Performance

Despite Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner combining for 68 points on the night, when it mattered the most, the greatest shooter of all time, Steph Curry, propelled his team to victory. 

Curry finished the night with 56 points while shooting 16-of-25 from the floor, 12-of-19 from distance, and was a perfect 12-of-12 at the charity stripe. Curry turned the game around with a halfcourt buzzer-beater before halftime and followed it up with a 22-point third quarter. It marked his 14th career 50-point game and 26th career game with 10+ threes.

Curry got any shot he wanted on the floor to erupt for 56 points

Curry Leads the Warriors in the Second Half

After trailing by 14 points going into the halftime locker room, the Warriors outscored the Magic 40-21 in the third quarter, breaking the game open and taking control the rest of the way.

“Great player, had a heck of a night,” Jamahl Mosley on Curry’s third quarter performance. “That third quarter, I think I have to go back and look at it and see exactly where we let go of the rope. What allowed them to get on that run. Obviously, it was him making shots, but they had to be generated from somewhere.”

Mosley was still in disbelief of the game that Curry put on in front of the home crowd and when asked by reporters what else outside of his performance was the difference in the game he gave a very blunt answer.

“The man had 56 points,” Mosley said. “There is no ‘aside’ from Steph. He had 56.”

Something about Playing in Orlando

Curry has had many great performances in Orlando throughout his career and Draymond Green told reporters in the postgame that the Kia Center is one of Curry’s top five arenas to play in.

“He likes playing here,” Green said of Curry. “It was funny because we were sitting around the other day. He started naming like five arenas that he’s like ‘That’s a great arena, it’s always great when we play there’. This is one of them.”

Curry himself followed up on that question when asked why he likes playing in Orlando.

“You like the lights in the arena, there’s certain arenas — I’ve had a couple of good games here. You feel a different energy — it’s just good energy in there and the fans seem to be into it and they love when a show starts to happen.”

Despite a historic performance by Steph Curry, which should be recognized, Paolo Banchero was nothing short of spectacular. Banchero finished the night with 41 points, six rebounds, and five assists while shooting 16-of-27 from the field and 4-of-10 from distance. This game marked Banchero’s second 40+ point game this season and the fourth of his career.

Magic Finding New Ways to Lose

Although the Magic had an efficient offensive output, it wasn’t enough and this team is spiraling as they’re finding new ways to lose. Recently their losses have been to Memphis with a 19-point blown lead, Cleveland a 40-point loss, and now Golden State with a blown 17-point lead.

“I mean that’s a tough question to answer right now on the spot,” Banchero said when asked what needs to change over this stretch of losses. “You just got to go back and watch the games, see what’s the recurring theme, and figure it out.”

Orlando falls to 29-32 on the season and remains the seventh seed in the East. The Magic are off practice on Friday and will prepare for back-to-back contests against the Toronto Raptors beginning on Sunday.