Kevin Durant had a season-high 49 points and Klay Thompson had 19 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter of the Dubs' comeback win over the Magic.
Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson carried the Warriors back from an 18-point deficit in Monday’s 116-110 win over the Magic. Durant had a season-high 49 points and Thompson had 19 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter of the comeback win.
TEAM LEADERS
For Durant, it was his second straight game with a season-high, having scored 44 in Saturday’s thrilling win over the Kings. The two-time NBA Finals MVP becomes the seventh player in Warriors history to have consecutive 40-point games. And after putting the Warriors in front with a three-point play with 1:19 left in the game, he made the game’s biggest shot on the team’s next possession, dribbling into a 3-pointer from straight away.
If Durant was the closer, Thompson was the set-up man. With Durant resting to start the fourth quarter, the Splash Brother took charge, making five of his six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. All told, Thompson and Durant combined for 32 of the team’s 37 points in the fourth quarter.
Before the heroics of Durant and Thompson were on display, the Magic looked like a team that couldn’t be beat. They made eight of their 15 3-point attempts in the first half, and Terrence Ross was a big part of that. The guard scored 28 points off the bench and went 4-for-6 on 3-pointers, but he wasn’t the only 3-point threat off of Orlando’s bench, as rookie Mo Bamba was 2-for-2 and Jonathan Isaac a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
The Magic stretched their lead to 18 points in the third quarter, and were a fastbreak layup away from making it a 20-point contest, but Durant made a momentum-changing chase-down block with 5:35 left in the quarter, one of his two swats for the game.
That block led to a 19-5 run for the Dubs, who were all of a sudden back in the game after seemingly being out of it just moments prior. By the time the fourth quarter began, it was a four-point game, and fueled by a home crowd that was on its collective feet for the last six minutes of the game, the Dubs were able to finish strong, thanks in large part to Thompson and Durant, who also had nine assists on the night.
After going 3-1 on the homestand, the Dubs will head back out on the road for a five-game trip that tips off on Thursday against the Raptors, owners of the NBA’s top record at 17-4.
More notable moments from the comeback win:
- The Warriors improved to 15-7 (.682) overall and 11-2 (.846) at home… The team now holds a record of 7-1 (.875) against Eastern Conference teams… The Warriors have a mark of 108-20 (.844) versus Eastern Conference opponents dating back to 2014-15.
Golden State has won 11-straight games versus Orlando (six consecutive at Oracle Arena)… This is the Warriors second-longest active winning streak over any opponent (Phoenix: 16 games). - The Warriors overcame an 18-point Magic lead in tonight’s game, overcoming their largest deficit in a win this season (previous: 16 on October 19 at Utah)… This was the team’s third victory of the season when trailing by 10-or-more at any point in the game… Last season Golden State tallied 16 come from behind wins after trailing by double-digits (seven of those wins after trailing by 15-or-more).
- Golden State recorded 46 rebounds to Orlando’s 34 and is now 12-2 (.857) this season when outrebounding its opponent… Tonight is the third consecutive game this has occurred.
- Kevin Durant (49) and Klay Thompson (29) combined for 78 points… This is the third time they have combined for 70-plus points in the same game (second time this season)… The Warriors are 3-0 all-time when this occurs.
- The Warriors scored 116 points and are now 14-2 (.875) when scoring 110-or-more this season.
- DeMarcus Cousins (left Achilles rehab), Stephen Curry (left groin strain), Draymond Green (right toe sprain) and Alfonzo McKinnie (left foot soreness) were out tonight… Golden State is now 5-5 this season without Curry in the lineup and 5-4 without Green.
- With tonight’s sellout crowd of Oracle Arena (19,596), the Warriors have extended their streak of consecutive sellouts to 304… This marks the fourth longest active-sellout streak in the NBA.
- Kevin Durant scored a season-high 49 points (16-33 FG, 4-10 3FG, 13-13 FT), scoring 40-plus points in back-to-back games (44 versus Sacramento) for the third time of his career (first with Warriors), his 33 attempts are a season high (one shy of his career-high attempts mark: 34 – twice)… His 92 combined points over the last two games are the most in a two-game span in his career… Six other players in franchise history have tallied 40-or-more points in consecutive outings: Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Antawn Jamison, Purvis Short, Rick Barry and Wilt Chamberlain… Durant added a game-high-tying nine assists, his third-straight contest with seven-plus assists (career-long streak is six games)… This marked his third game of the season scoring 40-or-more points (54th of his career)…He added a team-high-tying six rebounds with two steals and two blocks (his fourth-straight game recording two-or-more blocks)… Durant has tallied 29 made free throws in the last two games combined (on 30 attempts).
- Klay Thompson recorded 29 points (11-23 FG, 6-12 3FG) with five rebounds in 40 minutes… 19 of his points came in the game’s fourth quarter (ties a regular season career-high mark for points scored in the fourth quarter – 19 on November 6, 2013 at Minnesota).