© Kelley L Cox | 2021 Feb 11
When you’re playing against an Orlando Magic team missing half its players, all you need is for Stephen Curry to show up.
He did that and then some on Thursday night, continuing his MVP tear dropping 40 points on 10 made threes in the Warriors’ 111-105 victory over the Magic (9-17) at Chase Center. Over his last eight games, Curry now has 282 points, (35.3 per game) is 96-for-169 from the field and 53-for-101 from beyond the arc. It’s arguably the best he’s played since winning his second MVP in 2016.
There were moments when Thursday looked like it might be the worst loss of the season, specifically at halftime when Golden State’s 18 point second quarter put them down eight at half after leading by 13 in the first. An 11-0 run to start the third put the Warriors (14-12) back up, and back-to-back Curry threes to close the quarter gave Golden State a five point lead heading into the fourth.
Unreal pic.twitter.com/xtVTxJKF6c
— KNBR (@KNBR) February 12, 2021
The Warriors were better able to whether the storm to begin the fourth quarter when Curry sat, thanks in large part to Andrew Wiggins (21 points on 8-of-13) who was far more aggressive leading the second unit.
Once Curry returned, the Warriors blasted off, outscoring the Magic by 20-13 to close the game. You could argue it was Juan Toscano-Anderson who was just as much of a spark, the Warriors outscoring the Magic by 25-14 during his fourth quarter minutes. Anderson has been a revelation, and was everywhere on both ends to close the game. This exchange between he and Curry summed the fourth quarter vibe up perfectly.
JTA knew it was in before it left Curry’s hand ? pic.twitter.com/9lgfhCPFZw
— KNBR (@KNBR) February 12, 2021
Toscano-Anderson (nine points, five rebounds, two assists, one block, one steal) was forced into the rotation due to the injuries to James Wiseman and Kevon Looney. It’s clear at this point he will continue to get playing time even when both return, meaning the Warriors will almost certainly need to sign him to the active roster, as his two-way deal would only allow him to play 34 more games and not allow him to play in the postseason.
Who the Warriors would decide to cut remains to be seen, but it would seem that Eric Paschall is the most likely to lose minutes to Toscano-Anderson once the bigs return. His fall back to Earth continued on Thursday night and was a big part of the second quarter swoon. Paschall was a game low -22 during his 12 minutes on the floor, going 1-of-5 for just two points.
Even worse was Brad Wanamaker, who didn’t score a single point in 13 minutes and is starting to become a liability as the backup point guard. It’s part of the reason that both Wigginsand Kelly Oubre (17 points on 6-of-12) have been forced into the beginning of the second and fourth quarter rotation. At some point, Wanamaker and Paschall need to be more consistent, or the Warriors are going to crater against good teams when Curry is off the floor.
Draymond Green was again excellent, throwing 11 assists in the point forward role he’s fully embraced with no healthy centers on the roster. Yet it was his work at the defensive end that was more impressive, holding All-Star center Nikola Vucevic to 8-for-23 from the floor.
Without Vucevic going off, the Magic just didn’t have enough, missing their three best wings (Jonathan Issac, Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier) and their top two point guards (Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony). Their third-string point guard, Frank Mason, left with an injury a few minutes in and never returned.
All in all it was a fun win that should’ve been easier, and precedes a much tougher test on Saturday when Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets come to town. The Nets thrashed the Warriors in the season opener, and now have added James Harden to their group that already had championship aspirations. With Curry peaking, it’s the perfect time for Durant to make his first trip back to Chase Center since the 2019 NBA Finals.