Magic at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors ended a three-game losing streak on Tuesday by barely scraping by the Philadelphia 76ers but looked like they turned a corner with the way they played down the stretch. The Orlando Magic, who visit the Warriors on Thursday, will hope that's not the case as they attempt to avoid a fourth consecutive setback.
Golden State trailed by 12 points in the fourth quarter against the 76ers before locking down on the defensive end and letting that translate to offense, led by Draymond Green's six blocks and four steals. “I just continue to remind guys that we’ve been in a little bit of a rut and the only way to change that is to grind your way out of it,” Green told reporters. "Like I said, it’s not going to be pretty." The Magic need to find their own solutions on the defensive end after surrendering an average of 119 in the last three games, capped by a 120-115 loss at Sacramento on Monday in which they allowed the Kings to shoot 53.7 percent from the floor. "We’re working hard on that end," Orlando coach Frank Vogel told reporters of the defense. "We’re committing to (protecting) the paint, which has to happen first because early in the season we were a sieve in guarding the rim. We’ve had some improvement there, but now we’re giving up the 3-point line."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Orlando), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (24-44): One bright spot coming to the end of an otherwise lost season for Orlando is the improved play of point guard Elfrid Payton, who collected 13 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds on Monday for his third triple-double in the last five games. "I'm just going to continue to work hard, play as hard as I can night in and night out and live with the results," Payton told reporters. "I'm just trying to be aggressive, get everybody involved and get them going, especially early in the game, and get them feeling good about themselves. And then I want to help on the boards as much as I can." Payton is averaging 13.4 points, 11 assists and 9.4 rebounds over the last five contests.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (53-14): Two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry has been marred in a deep shooting slump over the past two weeks but finally showed signs of breaking out when he went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter on Tuesday. "He doesn’t need to worry," shooting guard Klay Thompson told reporters of Curry. "He set records through his whole career. He does stuff no player’s ever done in the history of this game. That’s what we all remind him of. And he reminds himself that, that’s why he got hot tonight, and he’ll have a huge breakout game coming soon. We know he will." Curry, who finished 5-of-13 from 3-point range on Tuesday, is shooting 40.1 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from beyond the arc this month.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Green scored 20 points on Tuesday - his first 20-plus effort since scoring 22 at the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 7.
2. Magic PG D.J. Augustin is 2-of-14 from 3-point range in the last five games.
3. Golden State took the last seven in the series, including a 118-98 win at Orlando on Jan. 22.