Sometimes, a one-man show makes all the difference.
The power of Paolo Banchero looked to be enough for the Orlando Magic on Thursday night at the Kia Center. Then Steph Curry happened, completely shifting the game in the Warriors’ favor, going from a 14-point halftime deficit to a six-point 121-115 win.
Curry scored 56 points in 34 minutes, giving him his first 40-point game and first 50-point game of the season. After scoring only five points in the first quarter, Curry scored 51 in the final three quarters.
The Warriors superstar made 16 of his 25 shot attempts, including 12 of his 19 3-point attempts and all 12 free-throw attempts. Curry made 12 threes for the third time in his career and fell two short of tying Klay Thompson’s single-game record of 14.
His 56 points are the fourth-most in a game for his storied 16-year career.
Steph hits triple No. 10 👌 pic.twitter.com/AvZMzFZX2p
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 28, 2025
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
Make that ELEVEN 3s for Steph 🔥 pic.twitter.com/reHZYgy0MK
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 28, 2025
STEPH HAS 52 POINTS AND 12 TREYS 💦 pic.twitter.com/rGT3Pfg85H
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 28, 2025
While Curry scored 56 points, the rest of the Warriors’ starting five combined to score 35. Draymond Green scored 12, Moses Moody scored 10, Brandin Podziemski scored eight and Jimmy Butler scored a lowly five points.
Though Curry was the story of the night, Quinten Post deserves his praise, too. The second-round steal was a plus-22 in 24 minutes, scoring 18 big-time points off the bench.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ fifth straight win.
The first half was the Steph Show. Unfortunately for him and the Warriors, none of his teammates joined the party.
Curry scored just five points in the first quarter, but then exploded for 16 in the second quarter. The rest of the starting five were spectators. Warriors starters not named Curry combined to score only 18 points. Highlighted by a wild buzzer-beater at the end of the second quarter, Curry alone scored 21 first-half points.
STEPH FROM DOWNTOWN DISNEY 😱 pic.twitter.com/FWiZJjwxr7
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 28, 2025
Butler easily had his worst half in a Warriors jersey, scoring only two points in nearly 15 minutes. He was a minus-21 through the first two quarters. Podziemski was a minus-20 and Green was a minus-14.
Once down by 17 points, two free throws from Curry at the 6:39 mark of the third quarter gave Golden State its first lead. A 16-point second quarter was just his warm-up to scoring 22 in the third quarter, giving Curry 43 points through three quarters in 27 minutes, yet the Warriors still only led by five points.
Curry in the fourth quarter scored 13 points, including three clutch 3-pointers.
In terms of status around the NBA, the Warriors are Goliath and the Magic still are David. But in terms of size, it’s quite the opposite.
The Magic’s three frontcourt players, Banchero, Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr., all stand 6-foot-10. On the other side, the Warriors didn’t have a player above 6-7 in their starting five, and that’s Butler, who plays small forward. The Warriors’ starting power forward, Moody, is listed at 6-5, and Green is a 6-6 small-ball center.
How did the Warriors respond?
Size matters; at least, it did early on Thursday night in Orlando. The Warriors in the first quarter were outrebounded 13-6 while being outscored 20-8 in the paint. At halftime, those numbers jumped to 24 rebounds for the Magic and only 16 for the Warriors, as well as Orlando still having 12 more points in the paint – 30 to 18.
But the second half was a much different story. In the final 24 minutes, each team had 22 rebounds.
Remember that whole size matters thing? Steve Kerr got the memo and made a huge change coming out of halftime.
In came 7-footer Quinten Post to be paired in the frontcourt alongside Green, sending Moody, who missed all four of his shots in the first half, to the bench. The switch had an immediate impact. Post in the first three minutes of the third quarter scored 10 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting, including two 3-pointers.
Rook’s got range ‼️
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 28, 2025
Post played five minutes in the first half, scoring two points on his lone shot attempt. The rookie then played 19 minutes in the second half, scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including going 2 of 4 behind the 3-point line.
Moody’s three in the final few seconds of the third quarter snapped a 10-0 run by the Magic and gave the Warriors the momentum that was slipping away. But inserting Post in the second half was the perfect adjustment for this kind of matchup.
The Postman > The Mailman 🤭 pic.twitter.com/1kCBFJ27yn
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 28, 2025
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