Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break.
In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21.
Photo: AP
The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most three-pointers in a game — 14, established back in 2018.
It was Curry’s 14th career game with at least 50 points — his career-high is 62 — and his 26th with 10 or more three-pointers.
Curry made his dozen three-pointers on just 19 attempts and was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line.
He also chipped in four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
“It never gets old,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of watching Curry, noting the support that the player got from the fans in Orlando — some decked out in Curry’s No. 30 jersey and others who just got caught up in the show.
“Even the Magic fans, they know they’re witnessing the greatest shooter ever and one of the greatest performers ever,” Kerr said. “It’s not just the shots going in. It’s the fluidity, the beauty of his movement and motion and his audacity — the shots that he’s willing to take.”
Fueled by Curry, the Warriors pushed their lead to as many as 12 points late in the third quarter.
The Magic, led by 41 points from Paolo Banchero, had pulled within two points with 1 minute, 55 seconds remaining when Curry drilled another three-pointer and the Warriors pulled away.
“I’m just blessed, like I always say, to play this game, enjoy the competition, the creativity,” Curry said, calling the energy from the road crowd “pretty insane.”
“For us to win this game, obviously, it took all those points, but it took a collective resilience that I love that we showed tonight,” he said.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points with 19 rebounds and seven assists as the Bucks withstood Denver star Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season in a 121-112 victory over the Nuggets.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 32 points with 14 rebounds and 10 assists, but he was held to six points in the fourth quarter as the Bucks clamped down defensively for their fifth win in their past six games.
In Los Angeles, LeBron James scored 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to fuel the Lakers in a scrappy 111-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Austin Reaves added 23 points and Luka Doncic scored 21 on a tough-shooting night.
Doncic missed nine three-point attempts before he drained his only trey of the night with 3:39 remaining, the awkward effort pushing the Lakers’ lead to 98-91 after the Timberwolves had clawed back from a 23-point deficit to make it a four-point game.
Terrence Shannon Jr scored 25 points off the bench to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Anthony Edwards scored 18 points for Minnesota before he was ejected after receiving a second technical foul in the third quarter.
His 16th technical foul of the season means Edwards faces a one-game suspension, and he tossed the ball into the stands in irritation as he left the court.
Elsewhere, New Orleans star Zion Williamson notched his first career triple-double, delivering 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to propel the Pelicans to a 124-116 victory over the Phoenix Suns, while the Dallas Mavericks swatted away the Charlotte Hornets 103-96.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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