Curry Drops Another 40-Piece as Warriors Edge Magic
This wasn’t an easy one, folks. As Bob Fitzgerald said what felt like 15 times on the night, the Magic were without a point guard, which ultimately made things difficult for the Dubs.
Despite the all-too-familiar rough start to the 2nd and 4th quarters, Golden State (14-12) was able to hang on to the victory against Orlando (9-17) due to another MVP-esque, 40-point outing from Steph Curry and an unbelievable defensive effort from Draymond Green.
Golden State started the game off strong, building a 13-point lead at the beginning of the second quarter. The Dubs quickly came back to earth, though, as the turnovers piled up and as they shot less than less than 35% on a season-high 30 three-point attempts in the first half. Chuma Okeke and Terrence Ross gave the Magic a late, 2nd-quarter spark to push the Magic’s lead to 8 at the half.
Despite a tight battle through the 3rd quarter and the beginning of the 4th, an Andrew Wiggins scoring burst, electric Draymond Green and Warriors team defense added to Steph Curry’s shot-making prowess, which powered the Dubs to a 111-105 win.
The stories of the night were three-fold: Draymond Green’s insanely effective small-ball defense on Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic, Brad Wanamaker’s frequent ineffectiveness as the primary ball-handler for the second unit and Steph Curry’s continued, super-saiyan-like dominance.
Being the primary defender on Vucevic, Draymond Green and the Dubs were able to hold Vucevic to just 8-23 shooting and a plus/minus rating of -19. This is impressive—especially considering that Draymond is a healthy 6 inches shorter than the skilled big man. Draymond made it tough for Vucevic to find a rhythm all night, which was a hugely important factor in the Dubs’ win.
While Brad Wanamaker has the potential to provide a stabilizing presence as the main ball-handler for the second unit, his play has not been up to par as of late. He is shooting an abysmal 18% from three over his last 10 games and continues to provide little offensive stability while not making enough of a defensive impact to make up for the poor offensive play. Tonight was no exception.
What will it take for Steph Curry to be a legit MVP contender? After another 40-piece including another game with double digit threes, this man is on an absolute tear right now and it doesn’t look to be stopping soon. In his last 10 games, he is averaging nearly identical stats to his unanimous ‘15-‘16 MVP season. Get loud, Dub Nation, because this bad man deserves some serious MVP consideration.
Tune in Saturday night as the Dubs welcome Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets to the Chase Center! Tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on ABC.