© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
OAKLAND – That wasn’t great. But sometimes you don’t need great, you just need enough. Tonight, the Warriors had enough in a 116-110 win, albeit against a team in the Orlando Magic they shouldn’t have had to fight so hard to beat.
The Magic are by no means the joke of a team they’ve been viewed at in recent years, but they’re also a ways off from being considered anywhere near capable of competing for something meaningful in the postseason. The Warriors, however, are still the best team in basketball… right?
Yes, most of the time. With Stephen Curry and Draymond Green in the lineup, there’s no question that the Warriors can, and often do beat any team they face. But without those two, it’s not been pretty.
Here are three takeaways from tonight’s game:
They Warriors really need Curry back… and he’s close
You might be sick of hearing how badly the Warriors need Curry and Green, and understandably so. But it’s true. With just two All-Stars in Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, the Warriors have lacked the rhythm and flow that’s typified their offense. Curry has been sidelined since November 8 with a left adductor strain, and including that game, the Warriors have a 5-6 record, including the win tonight.
Durant and Thompson were the only two Warriors players in double-digit scoring tonight. Durant had 49 points – and a dagger 3-pointer with 21 seconds left – as well as 9 assists and 6 rebounds, and Thompson added 29 along with 5 rebound. Granted, a win is a win, but when you’re the back-to-back defending World Champions, you shouldn’t need to grind games out against teams like the Magic with two All-Stars on the roster.
Curry will participate fully in the Warriors’ practice tomorrow and likely on Wednesday as well. Head coach Steve Kerr didn’t rule out Curry potentially returning to action against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. He’s undoubtedly been the Warriors’ most important player this season. His presence alone opens up the offense for everyone else and he penetrates the lane unlike any other player on the team.
Nikola Vucevic continued to play like an All-Star, and Terrence Ross joined him tonight
Vucevic might be one of the most under-the-radar studs in the NBA. Coming into tonight’s game, he was averaging 20.4 points. 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game on 54.8 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from behind the arc.
Tonight, he put up 30 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists on 12-of-21 shooting from the floor. The only other Magic player with more than 20 points was Ross, who was unfathomably clinical. He finished with 28 points while shooting 9-of-15 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
The duo spurred the Magic to shooting an astounding 44.4 percent from the field and 46.7 percent (14-of-30 after two late misses) from deep. The fact that those numbers failed to result in a win is almost as astounding as them shooting that well in the first place.
This win goes out to the Thundersticks
You read that right. In the third quarter, the Warriors handed out Thundersticks to about a third of the Oracle Arena crowd in the direction the Magic were facing. And in the third quarter, the Warriors went absolutely off on the Magic.
They outscored the Magic 32-19 to finish the quarter down just 83-79. The entire energy changed, and the only real answer is, you guessed it: the Thundersticks.