Cole Anthony put up another electrifying performance off the bench with 26 points, and yet the Orlando Magic still suffered a second straight home loss at the hands of the Golden State Warriors, 101-93, on Wednesday at KIA Center in Orlando, Florida.
In a game where leading scorer Paolo Banchero only managed to gather 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting, Anthony waxed hot as he converted 10 of his 17 FG attempts, including 5 for 8 from 3PT territory, in 32 minutes of play.
The Magic, fresh from a 109-107 loss to the Sacramento Kings, fell victim to another Western Conference playoff contender for the second straight game as they went 42 FG% and 31 3PT%. They also shot cold from the free-throw line, going 11 for 21.
After allowing the Warriors to storm to a 27-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Magic responded with a 26-18 run in the second period to narrow the deficit to 8, 45-37, at the half.
Golden State made several attempts to break the game wide open in the third frame but Anthony’s torrid shooting from the perimeter kept the Magic within single digit deficit, 72-66, heading into the payoff period.
Coleeeee
26 points for @The_ColeAnthony pic.twitter.com/ozzR52Wwyb
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 28, 2024
The Warriors padded their lead to double digits again behind 8 straight points from forward Andrew Wiggins in the early minutes of the fourth quarter. The home team persevered and came within one point, 94-93, after Anthony sank a 15-footer with 2:41 left in the clock. Unfortunately, the Magic had never scored a single point after that as Stephen Curry put on the finishing touches, including a back-breaking trey late, to seal the win for the Warriors.
Curry finished with 17 points and 10 assists while Wiggins led his team with 23 points. Draymond Green was tossed out four minutes into the game after receiving two technical foul for arguing a call.
The Warriors improved to 38-34, and more importantly, moved 1 full game ahead of the red-hot Houston Rockets for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
The Magic conceded the No.4 spot in the Eastern Conference standings to the Cleveland Cavaliers (44-29) after dropping to 42-30. Orlando will play the Los Angeles Clippers on March 30, the Memphis Grizzlies on March 31, and the Portland Trail Blazers on April 2 to wrap up their eight-game home stand.
