For the second straight game, the Warriors had chances to win in late moments, but ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard, losing 94-90 to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night at Amway Center.
Magic rookie Franz Wagner scored five points in the game’s final 13.2 seconds to lead the Magic to their fourth win in seven games. Jordan Poole led the Warriors with 26 points, including 21 points in the second half. Klay Thompson added 15 points, while Otto Porter Jr. recorded 14 points and 15 rebounds.
TEAM LEADERS
ELITE COMPANY
Jordan Poole recorded 26 points in Tuesday night’s loss, scoring 20-plus points in 10 straight games for the Dubs. That puts him in some rare company with the franchise, becoming the youngest Warrior with a streak of that length since Rick Barry in 1965-66 and just the third Warriors since the 2013-14 season to score 20-or-more points in at least 10 consecutive games (Stephen Curry 14 times, Kevin Durant four times). Poole is averaging 25.2 points per game since March 3 and has made 44 3-pointers in that span, tied for the most in the NBA.
PORTER JR. ENCORE
After a 16-point, 16-rebound effort on Sunday night, Otto Porter Jr. put on an encore performance on Tuesday, recording 14 points and 15 rebounds. The forward shot 5-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-3 from 3-point range. It was the fourth double-double of the season for Porter, and the second in as many games. He is the first Warriors since Kevin Durant in 2016 to record back-to-back 15-rebound games.
THIRD QUARTER HEAT
After a 38-point first half, the Warriors exploded for 36 points in the third quarter to turn an eight-point deficit into a nine-point lead. The Dubs shot 7-for-11 (63.6%) from 3-point range in the third quarter and 12-for-23 (52.2%) from the field.
SLUGGISH START
The Warriors made just one of their first nine attempts from the field, scoring just two points in the game’s first four minutes. The Warriors trailed 25-17 after the first quarter, shooting 29.2 percent from the floor and missing all seven of their 3-point attempts.
KUMINGA STEPS UP
Jonathan Kuminga made his first five shots of the game, recording 10 of the Warriors’ 21 points in the second quarter. The rookie was able to get good looks for himself near the rim and off the dribble, resulting in a 14-point night on 6-of-8 shooting. Kuminga also added five rebounds and finished with a team-high plus-7 plus-minus.
PAYTON RETURNS
Gary Payton II returned to action for the first time since March 3, after missing eight games due to a knee injury. Payton only played five minutes in the loss, but recorded four rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Warriors close their first of two back-to-back sets this week against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night at FTX Arena (4:30 p.m. PT, NBCSBA). Miami currently sits atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 47-25 record. They have won two of their past three games, but are coming into Wednesday night’s game off of a 113-106 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 27 points, while Bam Adebayo added 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. The Heat also went 20-20 from the free throw line in the loss, the team’s first time shooting 100 percent from the free throw with at least 20 attempts since March 24, 1993. Butler leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 21.3 points per game with Tyler Herro just trailing him (20.9 PPG).
More Notables ...
- Golden State lost its third consecutive game, falling to 47-25 overall (.653) and 18-16 (.529) away from home.
- The Warriors and Magic split the season series, 1-1… The Warriors have won 14 of the last 18 meetings against Orlando.
- Golden State scored 90 points, falling to 0-5 this season when scoring 90 points or fewer.
- The Warriors fell to 6-6 in the first game of back-to-back sets this season.
- The Warriors fell to 2-6 this season without Stephen Curry (left foot sprain) in the lineup.
- Up Next: The Warriors travel to Miami to face the Heat in the second game of a back-to-back set tomorrow night on Wednesday, March 23 (4:30 p.m. PT) in the second game of their current five-game road trip.
- Otto Porter Jr. tallied 14 points and 15 rebounds, recording his second consecutive double-double (fourth this season) and marking the second time in his career he’s posted back-to-back double-doubles… Porter has tallied 30 points and 31 rebounds over the last two games.
- Jordan Poole scored a game-high 26 points, extending his career-best 20-point streak to 10-straight games… At 22 years old, Poole became the second-youngest Warrior to record a 20-point streak of at least 10 games, trailing only Rick Barry (21 in 1965-66).
- Jonathan Kuminga scored 14 points off the bench, scoring in double figures for the 25th time this season… In games in which he has logged at least 20 minutes, Kuminga has scored in double figures in 23 of 25 games, averaging 15.4 points (.563 FG%) and 4.9 rebounds in that span.