Warriors Vs. Magic 2/19/2021

The Magic came into this game after an 18 point win against the Knicks where Terrence Ross had 30 points. The Warriors came into this game after winning 4 of their last 5 games and riding a 2 game win streak. The Warriors had a chance to win 3 games in a row for the first time this season. These 2 teams played earlier in the season and the Warriors were missing all 3 of their centers as they were in this game. The Magic were also missing players in that game with 5 or 6 players many of them being starters. In this game the Magic got back 3 of those players in Mo Bamba, Michael Carter-Williams, and Evan Fournier. In that game the Warriors won by 6 points and Stephen Curry had 40 points. The fact that Stephen Curry was coming off of an off night and that the Magic were getting back 2 important players meant that this was shaping up to be a pretty good game. Draymond Green was also back in the lineup despite the fact that he was out last game. For the Magic to win they needed to have good offensive games out of Evan Fournier and Nikola Vučević, rebound well, and defend Curry well. For the Warriors to win they needed to stop Fournier, have a nice game out of Curry, and find a way to rebound. Would the Warriors get their 3rd straight win or would the Magic take home their 12th win of the season? To the game!

To start the game the Magic won the tip which led to a James Ennis lll 3 pointer for the first points of the game. After defensive stops from each team Draymond Green made a 3 to tie the game. At 10:10 Evan Fournier made a 3 to give the Magic a 5 point lead. At the 6 minute mark Andrew Wiggins made a floater to cut the Magic lead to 5 points. Then at 5:32 Terrence Ross made a layup to bring the Magic lead back up to 10. At 4:44 Fournier made a 3 to give the Magic a 15 point lead. At 2:55 Mychal Mulder made a corner 3 to cut the Magic lead back down to 9 points. Then at 1:23 Stephen Curry made a 3 to cut the Magic lead to 3 and give himself his first points of the game. With 29.8 seconds left in the quarter Stephen Curry made a free throw after making a layup to tie the game. The next play Terrence Ross made a 3 to give the Magic the lead. Mo Bamba then denied a Stephen Curry layup to end the quarter. At the end of the first quarter the Magic were leading 37-34. Evan Fournier and Kelly Oubre Jr. both had nice quarters, Fournier with 13 points and Oubre Jr. with 10. The main thing that was really weighing down the Warriors in the first quarter was rebounding because after the first quarter the Warriors had only 7 rebounds and the Magic had 14. The Warriors and Magic did have equal assisting and stealing numbers. The Magic had 1 more block, 1 more turnover, and 1 more foul. Both teams were shooting very well but the Warriors were shooting a bit better overall with 54.5% from the field and 46.2% from 3. The Magic were shooting 53.8% from the field and 54.5% from deep. Both teams went into the 2nd quarter looking to gain momentum and take a nice lead at halftime.

To start the 2nd quarter Eric Paschall made a midrange jumper to make it a 1 point game. At 11:18 Eric Paschall made 1 out of 2 free throws to tie the game. Then at 10:57 Ross made 2 free throws to retake the lead for the Magic. At 9:45 Vučević made a turnaround fadeaway jumper to give the Magic a 5 point lead. Throughout the heart of the 2nd quarter the Magic lead hovered around 5 points. With 47.6 seconds left in the quarter Evan Fournier made a floater to give the Magic an 11 point lead. At the end of the first half the Magic were leading 64-51. Rebounding was really an issue for the Warriors in the first half with 8 less than the Warriors. Evan Fournier was also a huge issue for the Warriors with 22 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Kelly Oubre Jr was the leading scorer for the Warriors in the first half with 12 points, 5 rebounds, an assist, and 3 steals. The Warriors had 1 more assist, 1 more steal, 4 fewer blocks, and 1 fewer fouls than the Magic in the first half. The Warriors also had the same amount of turnovers as the Magic. The Magic were shooting much better than the Warriors at halftime with 51% from the field and 47.1% from 3. The Warriors on the other hand were shooting 43.2% from the field and 38.1% from downtown. In the 3rd quarter the Warriors hoped to tie the game and make it winnable and the Magic hoped to take a big enough lead that a Warriors win would be very unlikely. To the third!

To start the 3rd quarter Vučević made a 3 which Mulder followed up with a 3 of his own. At 11:04 Evan Fournier made a stepback jumper to give the Magic a 15 point lead. At 8:01 Andrew Wiggins made a 3 to cut the Magic lead to 9 points. At 7:27 Wiggins made a layup to cut the Magic lead to 5 points. A few minutes later at 1:33 Kelly Oubre Jr. made a layup to give the Warriors their first lead of the game. Then with 11.3 seconds left in the quarter Ross made a layup to give the Magic the lead. To end the quarter with 0.6 seconds left Draymond Green made a corner 3 to give the Warriors a 94-93 lead going into the 4th quarter. At the end of the 3rd quarter Kelly Oubre Jr. had 25 points and Evan Fournier had 24 points. The Warriors had 9 more assists, 7 fewer rebounds, 4 more steals, 6 more blocks, 3 fewer turnovers, and 2 fewer fouls than the Magic. Both teams were shooting the exact same from the field. The Warriors shot 50.7% from the field and 41.2% from 3 point range. The Magic were shooting 50.7% from the field and 43.3% from 3. Both teams hoped to gain momentum and get the win in the 4th quarter.

To start the 4th quarter Damion Lee made a 3 to give the Warriors a 4 point lead. At 11:12 Brad Wanamaker made a free throw to give himself a 3 point play and give the Warriors a 7 point lead. At 9:23 Kent Bazemore made a 3 to give the Warriors a 10 point lead. At 8:23 Evan Fournier made a 3 to cut the Warrior lead to 10 and give the Magic their first points of the quarter. At 6:27 Chuma Okeke made a layup to cut the Warrior lead to 4 points. At the 3 minute mark Vučević made a jumper to give the Magic a 1 point lead. At 1:48 Ross made a 3 to give the Magic a 5 point lead. At 1:05 Carter-Williams stole the ball from Curry and then got fouled on a fastbreak and made both free throws to give the Magic a 7 point lead. Steph then made 2 threes and Vučević made a couple of free throws which made it a 3 point game. Then Curry missed a 3 and the Warriors fouled James Ennis lll who made 1 of 2 free throws to make it a 4 point game with 2.9 seconds left in the game. Steph then missed another 3 to end the game.

Leo’s Courtside Commentary: Vučević and Fournier had a combined 58 points, 20 rebounds, 16 assists, 3 steals, and a block. Nikola Vučević also had a triple double. Curry and Oubre Jr. had a combined 55 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists, and 4 steals. The Warriors ended with 7 more assists, 6 fewer rebounds, 1 more steal, and 8 fewer blocks than the Magic. The Warriors and Magic also had the same amount of turnovers and fouls as each other. The Warriors shot 47.4% from the field, 45.2% from 3, and 60% from the free throw line. The Magic shot 48.9% from the field, 41.9% from downtown, and 82.4% from the free throw line. The fact that the Warriors were playing a Magic team that wasn’t injured proved to be a big difference from their last game. The Magic’s largest lead was 17 points and the Warriors largest lead was 13 points. The Warriors looked like they had the win in the bag but lost it at the end. Overall, this was a game with a huge comeback but a disappointing loss in the end for the Warriors.