Warriors drop back-and-forth affair to Magic

ORLANDO – Warriors center Willie Cauley-stein shook his head, chuckling as he ran back on defense.

Moments earlier, Cauley-stein had gotten his layup attempt blocked from behind by Magic forward Jonathan Isaac, only for the ball to bang the backboard, bounce off CauleyStein’s left arm and loft through the rim. In a season low on luck, that unintentional, thirdquarter trick shot was a welcomed sight for a Warriors team that went onto fall 100-96 to Orlando on Sunday night at Amway Center.

Less than 48 hours after fading in the second half in a loss to the Heat, Golden State didn’t wilt in a hostile environment, trading 15 leads with the Magic. But after Orlando guard Markelle Fultz hit a layup to put his team up 90-89 with 2:22 left, Warriors forward Eric Paschall got his shot blocked and Golden State guard Alec Burks missed a layup.

When Warriors forward Glenn Robinson

III swatted a Khem Birch layup attempt, the ball bounced back to Birch, who found Terrence Ross for a wide-open 3-pointer to push the Magic’s lead to four. After Burks nailed a 3-pointer of his own with 33.6 seconds remaining to put Golden State within 96-95, Orlando guard Evan Fournier made a driving layup to put the Magic up three.

Burks made one of two free throws on the other end, and the Warriors played stingy enough defense for Magic forward Aaron

Gordon to get called for the five-second violation. But Burks’ potential game-winning 3-pointer clanged off iron and, after Gordon hit two free throws to seal an Orlando victory, Magic players celebrated on the bench.

This was yet another tough loss for Golden State to stomach in a season loaded with injuries and defeats. The Warriors had played solid defense, mined contributions from throughout their roster and climbed out of a 12-point, firsthalf deficit, only to stare down their 12th defeat in 14 games.