ORLANDO, Fla.—Andrew Wiggins scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, Stephen Curry made the final two baskets of the game to salvage an off shooting night, and the Golden State Warriors overcame Draymond Green’s early ejection to beat the Orlando Magic 101–93 on Wednesday.
Curry made a driving hook shot with 1:09 to go and added a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left for the final points. He had 17 points—going 6 of 18 from the field— and 10 assists.
A night after holding the Miami Heat to 92 points in a win, the Warriors limited Orlando to 93. Playing mostly without Green and entirely without the injured Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State had a 52–39 rebounding edge to overcome poor shooting by everyone but Wiggins.
“We found a way to fight it to the end and get a win,” Curry said. “It did start with the defensive effort of being detail-focused, talking, rebounding, and then we were locked in for a good stretch of the game.”
The Warriors had some help from the Magic, starting with 10 missed free throws.
“Shots were not falling. Free throws were not falling,” Orlando Coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We were getting open and good looks. We missed some easy ones at the rim.”
Cole Anthony led the Magic with 26 points and eight rebounds. Paolo Banchero had 15 points and eight rebounds.
“Sometimes it just goes down like that where you come out and miss a couple in a row, and then it just trickles down,” said Banchero, who shot 5 for 17. “We just had some tough, tough misses.”
The Warriors, clinging to 10th place and the final Western Conference play-in position, won for the 20th time in 35 road games. They are 18–19 at home and could become only the second team in NBA history to finish with a winning record overall and a losing record at home. The Brooklyn Nets did it in 2021–22.
Green, who missed 16 games after being suspended by the NBA in December, was ejected 3:36 into the game for disputing a foul call on Wiggins. It was Green’s fourth ejection of the season.
“It was unfortunate,“ Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said. ”He deserved it, and he’ll bounce back.”
Banchero scored on the play, but it was Orlando’s final field goal of the period. The Magic shot 3 for 22 in the first quarter and fell behind 27–11.
The Warriors had a 17-point lead midway through the third quarter before Anthony shot the Magic back in it with a couple of 3-pointers, a backcourt steal and a layup.
“We’ve played so many tight games,” Mr. Kerr said. “We’re, obviously, a team that can compete with anybody and lose to anybody. That’s kind of where the league is these days, other than a handful of teams like Boston.”
Kuminga missed his first game since Oct. 30 because of a sore left knee.
Up Next
Warriors: At Charlotte on Friday night.Magic: Host Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.
