Well that was a roller-coaster.
Well, I hope you like roller-coasters, because the Golden State Warriors took everyone for a ride on Monday night against the Orlando Magic. They fell behind by 11 points in the first quarter. They erased the deficit perfectly, leaving the game tied at halftime. They built up a 15-point lead in the third quarter. They blew that entire lead, trailing at one moment in the fourth quarter.
And they won, 104-99. That is, by definition, all that counts, though your heart rate probably would like to present a counter argument.
The game began with yet another new starting lineup, as Draymond Green made his return, forming an opening five with Steph Curry, Buddy Hield, Andrew Wiggins, and Quinten Post.
The result? Zero offense. Almost literally. After Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made a three on the first possession of the game, the teams went more than three minutes without scoring. The Warriors missed their first six shots, and none of them were close. The Magic missed their next seven. It wasn’t until the 8:08 mark that the Warriors finally got on the board with a Curry and-one.
That didn’t open the floodgates up much. It was bone-dry offense for both teams, though Orlando finally started to make a few buckets, building up a double-digit lead. With well under a minute remaining, Golden State had a paltry 12 points. But they ended with a two-for-one flurry, first with a Moses Moody three, and then with Curry getting fouled on a halfcourt heave at the buzzer. Despite shooting just 2-for-14 from distance, they only trailed 26-18 at the end of the quarter.
The offense slowly arrived in the second quarter, as they chipped away and chipped away. Sparked by some strong plays from Dennis Schröder and Brandin Podziemski, the Warriors muscled their way to a 15-5 run that erased the deficit, and tied the game with about five minutes left in the half. But, as if to remind you that things still aren’t fixed, they then went more than three-and-a-half minutes without scoring, giving up a 7-0 Magic run in the process. And then, just to pull you back in, the Warriors went on a 6-0 run of their own.
With about eight seconds left, Wiggins drained a floater to tie the game, and we hit the halftime pause button with a 43-43 score.
And then our favorite occurrence: the Third Quarter Warriors. Golden State came out of the gates firing, with Curry, Wiggins, and Post filling up the points in a hurry. A 6-0 run gave the Dubs an 11-point lead halfway through the frame, and they were just getting started. Every time the Magic would make a push, the Warriors had an answer … usually with Wiggins muscling his way to the hoop and drawing some fouls. The lead kept growing and growing and growing, culminating in an 82-67 advantage after three quarters. After scoring just 43 first-half points, the Dubs had poured in 39 in the third quarter alone.
But they wouldn’t be the Warriors without trying to give it away. And indeed, a few minutes into the frame, Orlando ran off a 10-0 run to pull within four. The Warriors simply could not find the hoop if it had a giant red bow and a free Luka Dončić on it. With about five minutes left, Orlando finally tied the game. With just over four minutes left, they had surpassed the Warriors and taken the lead for the first time in the half.
Yet while Golden State’s lead-blowing habits persist, their late-late game execution has quietly gotten much better, and that proved the case against a younger, less-experienced team. With the score tied and three minutes remaining, Curry missed a circus layup, but Kevon Looney — who did serious rebounding damage — somehow contorted his body for a wild tip-in to give the Dubs a two-point lead. Thanks to some strong defense, that lead held until the 1:44 mark, when Green dropped in a floater to make it a four-point game.
Franz Wagner followed with a circus shot to pull the Magic back to within two, but just shy of the one-minute market a rolling Looney found Moody in the corner for a clutch three, and a five-point lead.
After Green reminded us of his defensive prowess with an elite stop on Paolo Banchero, Curry was fouled with 32.4 seconds remaining. Two free throws later, and it was a seven-point game.
Orlando had one last push, as Wagner attacked for a dunk, Wiggins split a pair of free throws, and Cole Anthony made an off-balance, prayer of a three to make it a three-point game.
But the Warriors had no trouble getting the ball inbounded to Curry for a pair of free throws to set the final score at 104-99.
Wiggins led the Warriors with 25 points and his aggression set the tone: he shot a whopping 15 free throws, and made as many (10) as the Magic attempted, as a team. Curry added 24 points but shot just 2-for-12 from distance, while Moody continued his tremendous play with 17 points. Looney gobbled an outrageous 16 rebounds in just over 20 minutes (albeit many of them tips on his own misses), while Green looked strong in his return.
Golden State moved back over .500, but what awaits them is daunting: a seven-game road trip. They’ll head to Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Los Angeles (to face the Lakers) on Thursday, Chicago on Saturday, Milwaukee next Monday, Dallas next Wednesday, and Houston next Thursday. Then it’s home to host the All-Star Game on Sunday the 16th, before finishing off the road trip on February 21 in Sacramento.
And we’ll wait to see if any big trades happen in the coming days.