Orlando Magic Grades: Golden State Warriors 119, Orlando Magic 113
The Orlando Magic had every opportunity to win the game, fighting back late in the game from a 17-point deficit. The Warriors were not at their best.
Final. 119. 41. 113. 38
Defending the Golden State Warriors can be a frustrating experience. Even when the defense does things right, recovers well, knocks the ball out and takes advantage of those few mistakes, the wrong bounce to the right player can absolutely bury you.
The Orlando Magic cut a 19-point deficit to two points with less than two minutes to play. They got the stop they needed, catching up to Stephen Curry and forcing him to dish the ball to Draymond Green. C.J. Watson made that extra effort and tracked back to him, knocking it free to the corner. That is where Klay Thompson was waiting, freed up by a screen, and drained a 3-pointer over Brandon Jennings.
The backbreaker turned a two-point deficit to five and the Magic were back to having to force play with time running out for good this time. There was no more deficit to fight back from.
The Magic were not particularly sharp throughout the game, but the effort and energy was there and that enabled them to keep pushing and fighting back to get into the game again.
Still, those early moments of lethargic and forced offense proved to be their undoing. The Warriors are a team that require perfection. The Magic did not have it even if they were willing to fight to give themselves a chance.
Orlando Magic. BRANDON JENNINGS. B+. <p>Brandon Jennings has had a very strange early tenure in Orlando. The point guard has not quite gotten his game off the ground and has struggled to shoot. He has fallen in love with his jumper and it just has not fallen.</p><p>It looked like Jennings was in line for another poor game. He took some terrible shots early on and missing them badly.</p><p>Then he turned things around, scoring 20 points on 5-for-10 shooting. All five misses were 3-pointers. He was aggressive driving the basket and got to the foul line. It was what the Magic needed from him. His scoring kept the Magic afloat in the second quarter and he made some big shots in the fourth.</p>. PG
B-. <p>The beginning of the game too was poor for <strong><a href=. F. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON
B-. <p><strong><a href=. SG. Orlando Magic. VICTOR OLADIPO
C. <p><strong><a href=. C. Orlando Magic. JASON SMITH
56-6. 1st West. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS. C-. <p>The Golden State Warriors were ripe for the picking once again for the Orlando Magic. In neither game this year against the Magic did the Warriors play their best. They let the Magic score pretty easily and stay in the game.</p><p>The Warriors still had their flurries. Stephen Curry scored 41 points and Klay Thompson had 27. They hit their threes and put the Magic through some torture defensively. Yet, they still had 26 turnovers and let Orlando stay in the game.</p><p>The second unit struggled mightily and the Magic made it all the way back. They turned the ball over late in the game and gave the Magic every chance to get back into the game. Golden State won, but it was hardly the team’s best.</p>