By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
And that is why, Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter that the sport of basketball has ever seen.
Down by as much as 17 points against the Orlando Magic, the tested and proven veteran superstar knew it was his moment to steer the stagnant Golden State Warriors’ ship in a grueling road game on February 28, 2025.
With only a limited window of offensive options when the Warriors trailed by double digits in the first half, Curry took matters into his own hands and carried Golden State after erupting for 56 points in their come-from-behind victory over the Magic, 121-115.
Curry uncorked 12 three-pointers out of 19 attempts and wrapped up the dub with his best shooting performance of the year while helping Golden State extend their NBA winning streak to five straight games.
The four-time NBA champion was one three-pointer away from equalizing his career-best in treys made in a single game when he went unconscious way back in November 2016 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
It was a shaky start for the Warriors on both ends of the floor, shooting and executing their offense poorly while allowing the duo of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to bully them in the shaded lane off aggressive drives to the basket.
Banchero and Wagner caused pandemonium at the Kia Center when they outscored the entire Golden State squad in the first eight minutes of the ball game, forcing Warriors head coach Steve Kerr to burn two quick timeouts out of frustration.
Golden State started to execute their off-the-curl plays midway through the second quarter that got them out of the mud, but Banchero’s late scoring flurry helped Orlando maintain their double-digit advantage heading into the second half.
Just when the Magic thought they could replicate their first-quarter performance, Curry refused to let Golden State have that sloppy start and took charge when he immediately sank back-to-back three-pointers.
Hot like fish grease and laser-focused to get the job done, Curry continued to ramp his intensity up and torched Orlando with a barrage of trifectas that helped Golden State inch close after a momentum-stealing 40-21 third-quarter swing.
Despite any tight coverages deployed by Orlando’s best perimeter defender, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the NBA’s leading three-point king just sent the final exclamation point after nailing cold-blooded threes that sucked the life out of the Magic.
When Orlando forced Curry to drive and negate his three-point shooting, the point guard still had no problems and drew fouls, resulting in a perfect 12/12 shooting from the charity stripe.
Curry ended his massive road game performance with 56 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals, backstopped by Quinten Post who chipped in 18 markers and five boards.
Despite only scoring five points, Jimmy Butler did the little things for the Warriors, stuffing the stat sheets with seven dimes, four rebounds, and two blocks.
On the other hand, Banchero’s huge night was spoiled by Curry’s insane shooting outing. The young and upcoming superstar finished the game with 41 points, built from an efficient 16/27 field-goal shooting performance.
After a jam-packed playing schedule in the last five days, the Warriors will be having a much-needed one day of rest before resuming their winning streak quest on March 2, 2025, when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers.
