Just when the defending champion Warriors welcomed back some reinforcements, Klay Thompson’s surgically repaired left knee required a break.
Paolo Banchero scored 25 points, Franz Wagner added 24 points and the Orlando Magic beat Golden State 115-101 on Saturday night as the Warriors dropped consecutive home games for the first time this season.
The Magic won on the Warriors’ home floor for the first time in more than 10 years.
Anthony Lamb scored a career-high 26 points with five 3s off the bench for Golen State, 14 of those in the opening quarter with four 3s. Jordan Poole had 21 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 15 points and eight rebounds and the Warriors lost a second straight following a season-best five-game winning streak and six-game unbeaten stretch at Chase Center. It ended on Saddiq Bey’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer for Detroit in a 122-119 victory Wednesday night.
All-Star Andrew Wiggins returned and veteran Andre Iguodala made his long-awaited season debut but Thompson was a late scratch with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. He warmed up and was announced with the starters during pregame introductions.
“It got sore during warmups and the training staff looked at him and for precautionary reasons kept him out of the game,”
Coach Steve Kerr said.
Wiggins scored 12 in 19 minutes coming back from a 15-game absence for both a strained muscle in his right upper leg and a non-COVID illness that delayed his expected return — including missing his bobblehead night Wednesday.
Stephen Curry missed his 11th straight game with a partially dislocated left shoulder but could return this coming week — the hope is Friday at San Antonio to begin a five-game road trip.
Iguodala had yet to play as the Warriors took a conservative approach with the 38-year-old veteran managing a left hip injury. He received a warm ovation when checking in for the first time at the 7:28 mark of the first and each other moment, finishing at 12 minutes.
“It was unbelievable. Being able to play with Iggy and Wiggs was awesome,”
Said two-way player Lamb, who felt the Warriors started nice runs but couldn’t sustain them by making enough defensive stops.
Cole Anthony added 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Wendell Carter Jr. contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds for Orlando.
“They took it to us all night, they were the more aggressive team,”
“It felt like they were coming down hill at us and we just didn’t have much of a response. We couldn’t get the crowd into it, couldn’t generate much momentum so I just felt like they controlled the whole game.”
Kerr said.
Magic center Moritz Wagner returned from a three-game absence, one of those he was ill then a two-game suspension for his part in an altercation with the Pistons at Detroit on Dec. 28.
KERR’S HELPER
A 12-year-old boy from North Carolina named Braxton Barefoot fulfilled a dream to be an NBA coach helping out Kerr through Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Barefoot, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, wore the same outfit as Golden State’s coaching staff and sat in on media sessions. The Warriors and Magic are his favorite teams.
Source: AP News
