Stephen Curry provided the Warriors and NBA fans alike with one of his classic shooting performances Thursday night, scoring 56 points in a 121-115 win over the Orlando Magic.
Curry connected on 12 of 19 3-pointers, falling just short of ex-teammate Klay Thompson’s 14 made 3s, Curry even connected on a ¾ court shot to end the half, igniting a third-quarter run.
STEPH ENDS THE HALF FROM WAY OUT 🚨
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 28, 2025
He scored 25 of his points in a 10-minute stretch that completely flipped the game. The Warriors were down 17 with 1.5 seconds left in the first half, inbounding from under their own hoop. Curry proceeded to hit a 49-footer from beyond half court to trim the lead to 14 and then went nuclear during a 33-9 run out of the break.
When he checked out with two-plus minutes still left in the third quarter, the Warriors were up nine and Curry already had 43 points.
Curry’s magic aside, the Warriors struggled on the road. The remainder of Golden State’s starters scored 35 points. Jimmy Butler had just five points, four rebounds and seven assists on 1-of-7 shooting. Draymond Green tallied a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double and fellow starter Moses Moody tacked on 10 points. Quentin Post added 18 points off the bench.
In winning their fifth straight and seventh since Butler’s arrival from Miami, Curry notched his 45th outing with nine or more 3-pointers in a game. He also tallied his 43rd 20-point quarter, the most of any current player dating to 1996-97.
Curry began settling in late in the second quarter when he silenced Orlando’s crowd with a deep triple to conclude the half, finishing the frame with four made triples to go with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. He finished the night 16-of-25 from the field, along with four rebounds and three assists.
Most 20-point quarters since 1996-97
- Stephen Curry (42)
- Kobe Bryant (36)
- James Harden (30)
- Damian Lillard (28)
- Devin Booker (27)
Was he needed in the fourth quarter?
Yes. Besides rookie center Post, there wasn’t much supplemental offensive help for Curry. The Warriors were a minus-9 with Curry off the floor. So he had to play hero down the stretch when the Magic threatened. Curry had 13 points in the final 4:01 of the game, drilling three straight 3s to keep the lead and four free throws to seal a fifth straight win. — Anthony Slater, senior NBA writer
Required reading
(Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck / Imagn Images)
