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Warriors 98, Magic 97

Alan Draper profile picture
Sports Editor
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OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry’s 3-pointer with 2.2 second remaining capped a late rally, as the Golden State Warriors extended their winning streak to 10 with a 98-97 triumph over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night.

In running their record to 7-0 against Eastern Conference teams, the Warriors (15-2) found themselves down 97-95 after Magic forward Tobias Harris converted a driving hoop with 38.4 seconds to go.

The Warriors blew their first chance to overcome the deficit when center Andrew Bogut couldn’t handle a lob pass for a turnover.

Orlando point guard Elfrid Payton misfired on a runner in the lane on the subsequent possession, and the Warriors wasted no time getting the ball to Curry in the frontcourt. He went for the win from 25 feet and connected, giving Golden State its only lead of the final period.

Power forward Draymond Green deflected an inbounds pass intended for Harris on Orlando’s final possession, running out the clock and capping Golden State’s second consecutive season-series sweep of the Magic.

Curry finished with 22 points, and backcourt mate Klay Thompson 20 for the Warriors, who won 111-96 at Orlando last week.

Small forward Harrison Barnes added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors, who were playing for the first time in December after a 13-win November.

Guard Victor Oladipo hit 10 of his 14 shots en route to 27 points for Orlando, which was coming off a win at Phoenix two days earlier. The Magic (7-13) fell to 5-8 away from home in their league-leading 13th road game.

Center Kyle O’Quinn, replacing Nikola Vucevic (back spasms), had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Harris added 17 points for the Magic, who travels to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers on Wednesday night.

A 3-pointer by Oladipo gave Orlando a 93-84 lead with 4:08 to play before the Warriors rallied.

After missing 16 of their first 20 3-point attempts, the Warriors connected on three in a row — one by Curry and then a pair by Thompson — in a nine-point spurt that produced a 93-all tie with 2:18 to play.

O’Quinn had a hoop and Curry a pair of free throws before Harris’ basket with 38.4 seconds left that gave Orlando its last lead.

The Magic rallied from a 10-point deficit to take a 75-73 lead into the fourth quarter thanks to a strong defensive third period.

The Warriors built as much as a 12-point lead late in the first half on the strength of 60 percent shooting through two periods. An 18-2 flurry that began at the 5:00 mark of the second quarter turned a 42-38 deficit into a 56-44 lead.

However, the Magic defense cooled off the Warriors significantly in the third period, especially after Golden State rebuilt the lead to 65-53 with 7:40 left in the period.

The Warriors missed 13 of their last 16 shots in the quarter, including nine in a row in one stretch, allowing Orlando to go up 75-73 by period’s end.

NOTES: The Warriors beat the Magic 111-96 last Wednesday in Orlando as part of their 5-0 road trip. … The game matched two coaches — Vaughn and Golden State’s Steve Kerr — who won championships as players for the San Antonio Spurs. Vaughn was on the 2006-07 title team; Kerr earned two rings as a Spur — 1998-99 and 2002-03. … Magic C Nikola Vucevic was a late scratch because of back spasms. He played 34 minutes in Sunday’s win at Phoenix. The Magic hopes to have him back for Wednesday’s game in Los Angeles against the Clippers. … The game was supposed to be a San Francisco Bay Area homecoming for Magic rookie SF Aaron Gordon, a former high school star in San Jose. However, Gordon missed his ninth consecutive game because of a broken left foot.

Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.

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