Behind Steph Curry's late heroics, Warriors extinguish Magic comeback bid

Behind Steph Curry's late heroics, Warriors extinguish Magic comeback bid originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Throughout the first half and well into the third quarter Saturday night, the Warriors, sloppy as they were, somehow maintained leads that threatened to mock the Orlando Magic and render the fourth quarter irrelevant.

But Orlando, ignoring its sub-mediocre status and Golden State’s six-game win streak, got up and started swinging back in the third quarter, wiping out a double-digit deficit, taking leads and setting up a firefight to the finish.

That’s when the Magic ran into Stephen Curry. He doesn’t lose many firefights, and he made sure the Warriors didn’t lose this one.

With Curry scoring 19 of his game-high 41 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, Yaxel Lendeborg saving his best for last, and getting timely defense down the stretch, the Warriors sweated out a 126-119 victory that pushed their win streak to seven and vaulted them into fifth place in the Western Conference.

“Tonight was good example that we have to we have to tighten up some things,” coach Steve Kerr said. “But I’m thrilled with the grit and the togetherness and the way they fought back that was an amazing response to Orlando’s great second half.”

That amazing response in the fourth quarter and OT was built around Curry, who scored 14 points in the fourth – including the Warriors’ final 12 points of regulation – and put them ahead for good with 1:38 left in OT.

“It’s like a flow state,” Curry said. “But also I was able to understand where the looks were going to come from because they’re a really solid, athletic defensive team. They were blitzing a lot early, so I was trying to be patient. And then it became just try to find a matchup with driving lanes either way and then a lot of hit hand-backs for threes.

“I got to the foul line on crazy closeouts, so I was able to get in the lane. It’s just more being decisive about how to get shots, make or miss or whatever. I think the clarity of exactly how to attack that particular defense tonight down the stretch was at an all-time high.”

ANOTHER 40 BURGER FOR STEPH ‼️ pic.twitter.com/3olusTYN3V

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 8, 2026

Though Lendeborg was marvelous down the stretch, with 16 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, it was Curry who Orlando focused on stopping but could not.

“They have one of the best players in the world on their team,” Magic wing Jamal Cain said. “And they’re capitalizing at crunch time … we gave ourselves a chance to win, but they’ve got No. 30 on the other side.”

Curry’s 41 points came on 13-of-19 shooting from the field, including 5 of 10 from beyond the arc. He added six rebounds and six assists.

“It never gets old,” Draymond Green said of Curry’s heroics. “But he’s so special. He always does something to where it can’t get old. It’s always something different.”

Even as the Warriors rushed to a 14-point lead in the first eight minutes and raised it to 16 at the half, they did as much to lose as win. They gave the wounded Magic 26 points off 19 turnovers. They kept extending a hand to feed Orlando, which in the third quarter started biting it.

Golden State was outscored 37-20 in the third, with its 16-point halftime lead becoming a one-point (78-77) deficit entering the fourth.

“Our third quarter was just chaos,” Kerr said.

“We actually got off to a better start today, and then I started turning the ball over,” Green said. “And once I started turning the ball over, it was just a domino effect. I turned it over two or three times to start the second quarter, and then from that point on we were just kind of throwing the ball all over the place which then allowed them to get rhythm.

“Although it didn’t happen right away – I think we went into the half up (16 points) – but what it did was it gave them hope.”

The Magic sizzled in the third quarter, with 56-percent shooting from the field, including 50 percent from deep, providing 37 points. The Warriors recovered, holding Orlando to 36.1-percent shooting in the fourth quarter and overtime.

“They came out in the third quarter and kicked our butts,” Kerr said. “But we let them off the hook, too, with some of the decision-making, carelessness of the passes. We just stopped executing. And if we want to be really good – and I think we can be – our number one goal is to become a team that can execute under pressure.”

The best lessons for any team are those learned along the road to triumph. The gorgeous beginning led to a reckless middle before Curry, Lendeborg and the defense went to work, making sure the Warriors’ best stuff didn’t go to waste.

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