Warriors recover to stop Magic
ORLANDO – Even when they are half asleep, the Golden State Warriors still dominate the NBA.
With an East Coast start time of noon, the Warriors awakened slowly Sunday but finished with a flourish, overpowering the Orlando Magic, 118- 98, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
The Warriors ( 38- 6) won their seventh consecutive game, keeping pace to become the first NBA team in history to win at least 65 games for three consecutive seasons.
Stephen Curry hit seven of 13 3-pointers and scored a game-high 27 points, dominating the third quarter after a lackluster first half.
“It was an early start, and a challenge mentally, but it shouldn’t matter what time of day it is,” Curry said. “We want to win whenever we play. We showed how much winning means to this team.”
Curry scored 16 points in the third quarter when the Warriors turned a tied game into an 18-point lead that was never challenged.
Warriors guard Clay Thompson scored 21 points and hit seven of nine 3-pointers. Kevin Durant had 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Draymond Green scored just six points but had 10 rebounds.
“I needed a wakeup call today,” Green said. “It’s difficult to play this early. You could tell by the way we played at the start. But that’s the NBA, and we figured it out and got it done.”
It was the 20th consecutive game the Warriors scored at least 100 points and upped their record to 14-1 against teams from the Eastern Conference this season.
In other results, Phoenix routed Toronto, 115-103; and Minnesota held off Denver, 111-108.