Magic rally to hand Warriors 2nd straight loss
Orlando Magic guard Isaiah Briscoe (13) and forward Wesley Iwundu (25) fight for the loose ball with Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) as Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) and Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) look on during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)
ORLANDO, Florida — The Orlando Magic proved again they can beat the best of the NBA.
They’ve also shown this week they can lose to some of the worst.
Aaron Gordon had 22 points and 15 rebounds, Terrence Ross added 16 points and the Magic rallied in the final three minutes to beat the Golden State Warriors 103-96 on Thursday night.
The win completes a week in which the Magic went 2-2, also beating Atlantic Division leader Toronto, but losing to the lowly New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls.
“It’s complacency, we’ve got to beat complacency,” Gordon said. “We showed again tonight we’re a good team, but we’ve got to learn to play at that level against everybody and not be complacent.”
A night after they were stunned in Miami by Dwyane Wade’s buzzer-beater, the Warriors blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost for the fourth time in six games.
D.J. Augustin scored 14 points and Nikola Vucevic had 12 points and 13 rebounds to help Orlando end an 11-game losing streak to the Warriors. Orlando’s last win over Golden State was on Dec. 14, 2012.
“Playing up-and-down has been an issue for us all year, but we’re finally showing confidence in ourselves, especially in the fourth quarter,” Vucevic said. “We didn’t have any focus against the Knicks the other night, but we stayed with it against (the Warriors) and it paid off. We need to do that every night now.”
Stephen Curry scored 33 points, but was only 1 for 6 in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins each had 21 for the Warriors, who played without Kevin Durant (rest) and Andre Iguodala (sick).
Golden State was just 7 of 23 in the fourth quarter, getting outscored 33-15. The Warriors hit just 9 of 40 (22.5 percent) from behind the 3-point line in the game. Curry was 5 of 17 on 3-pointers.
“Steph is beating himself up a little bit because he knows he had a lot of open shots that didn’t go,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought Orlando did a better job executing down the stretch than we did. I didn’t think we executed very well at either end of the floor, especially in the fourth quarter.”
It was the first time Golden State lost to Eastern Conference teams in back-to-back nights since March 1-2, 2013, at Boston and Philadelphia.
The Warriors, who trailed by eight at halftime, outscored Orlando 30-11 in the third period, limiting the Magic to 5-of-23 shooting (21.7 percent) and forcing four turnovers to take an 81-70 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Magic roared back behind Ross, who hit three 3-pointers to ignite a 15-4 run. His last 3-pointer tied the game at 89-all with 4:16 left.
Curry then fed Jordan Bell for a layup and converted an open 3-pointer to put Golden State back in front 94-89, but the lead didn’t last long.
The Magic ran off 10 straight points, including a 3-pointer by Gordon, who had nine points and six rebounds in the period.
“Considering the way we finished the third quarter, we were pretty much in control of the game,” Curry said. “But we missed a lot of shots and didn’t get any stops so it’s a frustrating way to end. This is a tough one.”
Golden State trailed from the opening minute until Draymond Green converted a fast-break layup to give the Warriors their first lead, 65-63 midway through the third quarter. That was part of a 16-3 run sparked mostly by the defense. Curry scored 10 straight Warriors points to help Golden State to an 11-point lead by the end of the period.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Golden State needs one more road win to assure the Warriors a winning record in road games for the sixth straight season. . Warriors are first in the NBA with 6.7 blocks per game, but had only three against Orlando. . The Warriors had their first seven games against the Southeast Division.
Magic: Augustin, who had one blocked shot all season, blocked two of Curry’s jump shots. . Backup PG Isaiah Briscoe returned after missing the last two games with a concussion. He had eight points and nine rebounds. . The Magic limited Golden State to just 5-of-22 shooting (22.7 percent) on 3-pointers in the first half. . Orlando’s bench, which got outscored 75-7 in the last game, outscored Golden State’s bench 35-12.
DURANT TAKES A SEAT
Durant missed his first game this season. He scored 29 points in 39 minutes of Golden State’s 126-125 loss Wednesday in Miami. “He’s just wiped out,” Kerr said. “He’s been going at it hard and playing every game, so with this back-to-back made it obvious. He’s earned a day off.”
UP NEXT
Warriors: Finish four-game road trip at Philadelphia on Saturday.
Magic: Start three-game road trip at Indianapolis on Saturday.
