LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The NBA champion Golden State Warriors were firing on all cylinders Friday in a 133-112 victory over the Orlando Magic in Florida.
The banged-up Warriors, with Stephen Curry nursing a painful bruised finger, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson battling troublesome ankles and David West suffering from a sore left knee, nevertheless proved more than a match for the Magic.
Thompson scored 27 points, while Durant connected on 10 of his 14 shots en route to 25 points before he was ejected for swearing at a referee over a foul call after his final basket.
“The refs run the game, so if they’re not feeling good today, they can just make any decision they want,” said Durant, who clearly felt the ejection was unwarranted.
“So I’ve got to know that they’ve got all the power and I’ve got to just shut up and take it.”
Curry, again playing with his right ring finger bandaged, had 23 points and 10 assists as the Warriors seized control early and thwarted every Magic effort to rally.
Draymond Green added 12 points, 10 assists and three steals and Jordan Bell came off the bench to score a career-high 16 points with four rebounds and three blocks.
The Warriors connected on 62.5 percent of their shots from the field as they improved to 17-6. They made 12 of 24 three-point attempts — their seventh straight game with at least 10 three-pointers.
Golden State led 78-63 at halftime — their highest-scoring half this season. Their 46 assists were one shy of the franchise record, and Thompson said ball movement was a key.
“Just making the simple play,” he said. “We had some great cuts to start the night and that carries over. When you do that, it’s contagious and it’s fun to be a part of.”
‘Play for something’
The Warriors’ performance was a far cry from their lethargic looking effort in a 127-123 overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
Thompson said coach Steve Kerr had called out his players after that game.
“Steve challenged us to play with great energy and play for something,” Thompson said. “In that Lakers game we didn’t really, really start competing until the last 15 minutes.
“I think we tried to answer Steve’s challenge.”
Orlando never got the deficit under eight points in the second half.
A 12-0 run, with three straight baskets by Thompson, pushed the Warriors’ lead to 10 points midway through the third quarter and they led 102-91 going into the fourth.
Aaron Gordon led the Magic with 29 points and seven rebounds. He made five of 11 three-pointers. Evan Fournier added 22 points and Jonathan Simmons chipped in 18, but the Magic fell to the Warriors for a 10th straight time.
© Agence France-Presse
