Warriors Beat Magic 126-119 in OT as Curry Drops 41 on Orlando

Here's my bold take: this game was supposed to be a laugher, and Stephen Curry decided it anyway.

The Warriors beat the Magic 126-119 in overtime to improve to 7-3. They were up 16 and led 57-41 at the half. Then they gave nearly all of it back, and Curry took it from there.

The Lead That Wouldn't Stay

Golden State led 31-19 after one quarter and went into the break up 16. Then Orlando erupted for 37 in the third. Tristan da Silva's three with 3:23 left in the quarter made it 72-69, the Magic's first lead of the night.

Orlando led 78-73 late in the quarter before a Brandon Williams basket and two free throws got the Warriors within one, 78-77, at the quarter's end. The game finished with 10 lead changes' worth of chaos, and the Warriors never really got the lead back to comfortable.

Curry Closes the Regulation Door (Almost)

With 1:47 left and the game tied 100-100, Curry hit a 26-footer, assisted by Draymond Green, to make it 103-100. After da Silva tied it, Curry buried a 25-footer, again off a Green assist, for a 106-103 lead. Wendell Carter Jr. answered with a three. Curry hit two free throws, Franz Wagner answered with a floater, and Curry drove for a layup to make it 110-108.

Then Jamal Cain tipped one in with 1.5 seconds left to tie it at 110 and force overtime. Rude.

Overtime: The Kids and the King

Charles Bassey opened the extra period with two free throws and an 11-foot floater, and Lendeborg's 26-foot three made it 117-112. Orlando punched back with threes from Carter and da Silva to go up 118-117 with 2:24 left.

That's when Curry took over. He hit an 8-footer and a free throw for 120-118, then another 8-footer with 54.1 seconds left for 122-118. Lendeborg then dunked off a Georges Niang assist with 11 seconds to go and hit both free throws for the 126-119 final.

Curry finished 5-of-10 from three and a perfect 10-of-10 at the line. Lendeborg shot 9-of-15 with 8 rebounds. Brandin Podziemski added 15 on 5-of-7, Niang had 11 off the bench with a +13, and Williams chipped in 9.

The Draymond Line

Green scored 2 points. He also had 13 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks and a +11. I'll take that stat line any night, though the 4 turnovers sting.

The Ugly Numbers

Don't let the win fool you. Orlando out-rebounded Golden State 57-42, including 24 offensive boards to the Warriors' 3. Yes, 3. The Magic took 113 shots to the Warriors' 80 and still lost, which tells you how well the Warriors shot (54 percent overall, 15-of-32 from three). The Warriors also committed 18 turnovers, which Orlando turned into 26 points.

Wagner was brilliant for Orlando with 30 points and 11 assists, and Cain grabbed 12 boards. The Magic fall to 2-7.

If Golden State keeps getting beaten on the glass like that, a better team will make them pay. But on this night, Curry was the better team.

Next Up

The Warriors are back at it Monday at 10:00 PM ET against the New Orleans Pelicans. Somebody please rebound.