The Lead
The first nine points and 12 of the first 14 were scored by the Orlando Magic. The rest of the night was dominated by the now 20-4 Golden State Warriors, who used a 15-0 run late in the second quarter to blow the game open before cruising to a 126-95 victory at Chase Center on Monday night.
Key Stats
Turnovers have been a problem for the Magic throughout the early portion of the season, and that was again the case Monday. They coughed it up 23 times, which led to 38 Warriors points. Common when playing Golden State, but the 3-point disparity was big. The Warriors drilled 20 3-pointers. Andrew Wiggins made eight of them and Stephen Curry, unsurprisingly, knocked down seven shots from downtown. The Magic, meanwhile, made only 11 of their 38 attempts from beyond the arc.
Top Performers
Five Magic players scored in double figures, including Franz Wagner, who had 15 points to go along with four rebounds, six assists and three steals. He has now scored in double figures in 20 of his first 25 career games. Gary Harris led Orlando with 17 points, while R.J. Hampton finished with 16 points and Wendell Carter Jr. recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Injury Report
Michael Carter-Williams (left ankle), Markelle Fultz (left knee), Jonathan Isaac (left knee), E’Twaun Moore (left knee sprain), and Jalen Suggs (fractured right thumb) were out for Orlando. For Golden State, Andre Iguodala (right knee soreness), Klay Thompson (right Achilles), and James Wiseman (right knee) were unavailable.
This Day in History
It wasn’t the first time the Magic and Warriors played each other on Dec. 6. On this day in 1995, the two teams squared off at Golden State’s previous arena, then named the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena. Penny Hardaway and Dennis Scott each scored 23 points that night to lead the Magic past the Warriors, who got 31 points from Tim Hardaway and 18 from Chris Mullin.
Rivals Report
Kevin Durant is no longer there. Thompson isn’t back yet. Their three lottery draft picks from the last two years are either hurt or barely playing. And yet the Warriors seem to be back to what they were when they won three titles in four years. Obviously, everything starts with Curry, who is miles in front of whomever is second right now in the MVP race. But Golden State, which moves the ball better than any other team on offense while sticking to their defensive principles, is getting plenty from the supporting cast, including Draymond Green, probably the league’s DPOY through the first quarter of the season.
Quote of the Night
“Mike Brown has always been a mentor of mine that I’ve watched over the years being with Tim Grgurich, and he’s a product of being with Tim and Pop (Gregg Popovich). Just learning from him was just the details of the game, focusing on paying attention to the little things within the game of basketball. Also, the relationships and being able to have a high level of communication with guys. But he’s always been an inspiration to me as well as a mentor and helping me see the game from a different aspect.” - Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley on the Warriors’ associate head coach whom he worked under for a season in Cleveland
Up Next
The Magic take a short flight from San Francisco to Sacramento, where they will face the Kings on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET. The Kings were the first team this season to make a coaching change, replacing Luke Walton with Alvin Gentry, who took over on an interim basis. Since then, the Kings have won four of seven, including the last two, both against the L.A. Clippers. Terence Davis went off for 28 points in the more recent of the two meetings, while Tyrese Haliburton had 18 points and De’Aaron Fox finished with 17.