In the past nine meetings, the Golden State Warriors have beaten the Orlando Magic a grand total of one time. This stat has nothing to do with the current 2012-13 version of the Dubs but it's pretty funny. Or not.
The one time that they did win, the Dubs hit a franchise-record 21 threes in an overtime victory. I may or may not have been at the game and may or may not have bet against the home team.
Anyways, there's really no point in running through an analytical breakdown of the game since they had just beaten the defending champion Miami Heat and probably not likely to go 7-0 on the road trip. But you were thinking that, right?
That South Beach nightlife sure seems like a lot of fun though.
Going a little against the grain here but we're going with a list of things that happened during the game that might interest you.
Nikola Vucevic had nine boards in the first quarter and ended up with 17 on the night.
Moe Harkless and Andrew Nicholson, two of Orlando's first-round draft picks, combined for eight blocks. Neither stand taller than 6'9".
Orlando came into the game shooting 32.6% from three-point range, ranking 4th last in the NBA. Naturally, they shot 42.6% on their way to a 9-21 performance.
Richard Jefferson played.
Kent Bazemore scored his first NBA bucket. There was no Kent Bazemore on the bench to celebrate.
J.J. Redick made every single three-pointer he took while sneering at the Warrior's bench (probably didn't happen).
David Lee tried to steal yet another rebound from his teammate on a missed free throw and ended up tapping it back to Orlando.
Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett actually talked about how the low energy in the building created a lack of motivation from the players. Jon Miller, Dave Flemming, Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper they are not.
The Warriors lose the season series to the Orlando Magic 2-0. Meaning they won't face them until the NBA Finals.
There wasn't much to choose from here but since the All-Star game is coming around, Curry could use all the statistical help he can get. Especially from people who don't watch many West Coast games and don't entirely understand his total impact on the floor.
He once again made a couple sweet left-handed pick-and-roll passes to David Lee. Becoming a normalcy for him. Gorgeous when it works.
Curry scored 25 points on 8-19 shooting and 2-5 from behind the arc. Keep that average point total up, Steph!
Three Observations:
1) In a curious but unsurprising decision by Mark Jackson, he left the starters in through the fourth quarter in an attempt to make a comeback and steal another one on the road. It didn't work and David Lee and Curry played over 40 minutes each. Klay Thompson and Jarrett Jack both went over 33 minutes. We'll see how they do against the Atlanta Hawks on a back-to-back tomorrow but it's something to keep an eye on.
Unlikes the San Antonio Spurs, the Dubs can't afford to give away any games but this seemed a bit out of reach even early on in the fourth.
2) To put it rather bluntly, Festus Ezeli is becoming a bit like Andris Biedrins on both sides of the floor. While agile on his feet, Ezeli has terrible hands, jumps on pump fakes, and can't finish a lay-up. And when he somehow gets to the line? Not pretty. Granted, he is a rookie and will get better as the season progresses but having him in the game as a "starter" isn't helping the Warriors much right now. So far, the Dubs have gotten away with a David Lee and Carl Landry frontcourt to this point and it may start to bite them back soon. Nikola Vucevic and Andrew Nicholson, really?
And that is why, despite the big wins on this road trip and in this season, I still believe the playoffs hinge on the injured ankle of Andrew Bogut. This may not seem fair to the fans but management had a vision when they put this team together and Bogut manning the defense with a bit of offense certainly helps.
3) The play of the game, or in this case, the play that potentially lost the Warriors the game belonged to Klay Thompson. During the middle of the third quarter, Curry hit Jack in the corner after a behind-the-back dribble for a 3 and cut the once 17-point deficit to nine. Then the Warriors got a stop and were in transition. Klay proceeded to drive into two people and ended up turning the ball over, and the Magic hit three threes in a row. Game.
Probably not the smartest play there but part of Klay's game is his confidence to finish and make every shot he takes. That's why he didn't stop shooting when he was cold to start this season. And the previous one, for that matter.
It's a long season. And a Friday night. Stop reading about the Warriors and grab a beer.