Warriors at Magic
The rigors of a long road trip have tested the almighty Golden State Warriors, but Steph Curry seems unfazed. Curry and Warriors seek their fourth consecutive win as they continue a seven-game road trip at the Orlando Magic on Thursday.
Following a 32-point loss at Portland in the second game of the trek, Golden State has survived three straight games with some late drama, including a 118-112 triumph in Miami on Wednesday, as Curry scored 10 of his 42 points in the final 66 seconds. Klay Thompson added 33 points as the Warriors (51-5) continued to stay ahead of the record pace set by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who were 50-6 after 56 games. Orlando will be facing the league's best team two nights after taking care of its worst with a 124-115 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Nikola Vucevic's season-high 35 points was the catalyst as the Magic won for the second straight time on the road following a 1-9 span away from home.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (51-5): Curry hit 6-of-12 3-pointers against the Heat and has made at least one in 127 straight games, tied with Kyle Korver for the longest such run in NBA history. The reigning MVP continues to tear it up on the road, with Wednesday's effort leaving his scoring average at 32.4 (compared to 27.1 at home) and his shooting percentage at 52.1 (48.9 at home). Thompson has enjoyed similar upticks in road games and is averaging 27.8 points on the trip.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (25-30): While Orlando had few issues piling up the points in Philadelphia, coach Scott Skiles knew it was an incomplete effort that will not translate when the level of competition soars Thursday night. "Golden State will score 300 on us in the next game if we play like that," Skiles told reporters after his team let the woeful 76ers shoot 54.4 percent from the floor. "Every time I watch them I feel like I'm watching the best team I've ever seen play." Vucevic is carrying the load on the offensive end with a scoring average of 24.2 points over his last six games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Magic SG Evan Fournier has topped 20 points in four of his last six games after reaching that mark just three times in his previous 37 contests
2. Golden State is 13-1 in the second game of a back-to-back.
3. Curry's 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left lifted the Warriors to a 98-97 victory in the previous meeting on Dec. 2, 2014, at Golden State.