Magic duo star as Warriors’ title ‘hangover’ deepens; Giddey’s Thunder fall short — NBA Wrap
Young duo Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero have guided the Orlando Magic to a 130-129 win, their second this season, whereas the Golden State Warriors hit a brand new low.
Banchero and Suggs mixed for 48 factors, overcoming 66 factors between Steph Curry and Klay Thompson for Golden State, who has now misplaced 4 video games in a row.
It was a career-best outing for Suggs, who additionally had 4 steals and 9 assists, whereas Banchero stood up when the Magic wanted him most after a quiet first half.
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The bench continues to be a difficulty for the Warriors, with coach Steve Kerr admitting post-game he’s but to seek out a solution with the rotation.
“We’ve got to find combinations that work off the bench. We’ll be making some changes,” he stated.
“It feels like a bit of a championship hangover,” Kerr added.
The Warriors jumped out to an early 18-8 lead after 5 minutes, with Klay Thompson on fireplace from deep early, taking pictures 3-for-4 to attain 9 factors.
It additionally noticed Thompson (now seventeenth) move J.R. Smith on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made record.
Kevon Looney (six factors, one rebound and one help) was additionally serving to tempo Golden State’s offence at that time.
The Magic although then went on a 14-12 run to take a 27-25 lead, with turnovers and fouls a key problem for the Warriors, whose second unit was additionally struggling to supply.
Golden State had already dedicated seven fouls with three minutes remaining within the opening quarter, permitting 11 free throws.
The two groups would go into the second quarter tied at 30-all, with Thompson nonetheless main the Warriors with 9 factors whereas Looney had eight.
As for the Magic, Banchero was not having fun with the identical success he had early in his rookie season, going scoreless within the opening quarter.
It was Chuma Okeke as a substitute who was main the way in which, with 12 factors, 4 rebounds and a block off the bench.
The factors dried up for the Magic within the second quarter although, outscored 35-23 by the Warriors, who stopped fouling as a lot.
Banchero was nonetheless struggling to seek out his rhythm, taking pictures 1-for-6 for 4 factors to go along with 4 rebounds and three assists.
Suggs, in the meantime, had 10 factors, 4 assists and two steals to do his half to make up for the No.1 decide’s off evening.
As for Golden State, Thompson and Curry each led with 14 factors whereas Looney and Andrew Wiggins (10 factors) additionally hit double figures.
It was all of the Warriors by halftime, with 17 extra pictures, seven extra rebounds and 13 extra second-chance factors than the Magic.
That although flipped dramatically within the third quarter as Orlando outscored Golden State 43-33 to arrange an exhilarating closing 12 minutes to the sport.
After a sluggish begin, Banchero began to seek out his groove and carried the Magic offence even with the reserves on the ground because the rookie put up 12 factors within the third quarter.
Banchero stored the offence rolling within the fourth too, though he obtained loads of assist from Suggs, who scored 15 factors within the quarter.
Having solely returned from an ankle harm earlier within the week, Suggs has now scored 20-plus factors twice this season, together with a 21-point effort towards Detroit.
Both Thompson and Curry stored the Warriors within the sport late with clutch 3-pointers and a late turnover from Banchero gave Golden State a shot to steal it on the demise.
The Magic held on although, taking their second win of the yr because the Warriors slumped to a fourth-straight defeat.
GIDDEY SHOWS FLASHES AS THUNDER FALL TO NUGGETS
Australian Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander proceed to indicate loads of promise nevertheless it was not sufficient for the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 122-110 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Giddey completed the sport with 16 factors on 7-for-14 taking pictures, together with two 3-pointers, to go along with 5 assists and a steal.
The Australian additionally had 4 turnovers although as he continues to work on the backcourt match with Gilgeous-Alexander, who led all scorers with 37 factors.
As for the Nuggets, all 5 starters completed on double figures, with Aaron Gordon (27 factors, 5 rebounds, three assists, one block) making an influence on each ends of the ground.
Nikola Jokic, in the meantime, moved into sixth place on the all-time triple-double record with 15 factors, 13 rebounds and 14 assists towards Oklahoma City.
Jamal Murray additionally continues to get again into his rhythm after coming back from a torn ACL, placing up 24 factors to mark his first back-to-back 20-point video games since April final yr.
It was additionally the primary time Murray had performed over half-hour in two consecutive video games.
The Nuggets began quick on Friday, going up 21-4 early after 10 factors on 4-for-4 taking pictures from Aaron Gordon.
Back-to-back reigning MVP Nikola Jokic had not even scored at that time, though he did have 4 rebounds and 5 assists within the first seven minutes with Denver nonetheless effectively on prime.
That was, till Oklahoma City scored seven in a row to shut the hole to 21-11, seeing Nuggets coach Michael Malone name a timeout.
The timeout paid dividends for Denver, who went on a 14-7 run to reassert its dominance with a 35-18 lead and three minutes remaining within the first quarter.
Oklahoma City then referred to as a timeout of its personal and Gilgeous-Alexander did his finest to energy the offence, scoring all 11 of the Thunder’s factors for the rest.
It would considerably cut back Denver’s buffer after the primary quarter however not by a lot, with the Nuggets nonetheless holding a 42-29 lead.
Denver’s offence picked up the place it left off the primary quarter, leaping out to a 51-32 lead earlier than Oklahoma City labored its method again into the competition.
