Orlando, March 23 (BUS): Franz Wagner made three free throws with 12.2 seconds left to lead the Orlando Magic to a 94-90 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
With the Warriors losing, the NBA’s leading Phoenix Suns (58-14) snatched the top spot in the Pacific Division.
The Associated Press reports that Mo Bamba’s triple indicator with 52 seconds of letting Orlando leads 89-88.
Wendell Carter Jr. led Orlando with 19 points, and Wagner had 18 points and a big finish.
“Franz can play, man,” said magic goalkeeper Cole Anthony, who scored 14 points and five assists. “He can encircle. I saw him here tonight live.”
Jordan Bull scored 26 points for the Warriors, who fired 40% for the match and made seven turnovers in the fourth quarter en route to their third straight defeat. Klay Thompson added 15 points and Otto Porter Jr. added 14 points and 15 rebounds.
“I think we’re playing dumb, and I think we’re playing dumb,” said Warriors striker Draymond Green. “We don’t play good basketball. We get spoiled, we lose a lot of fourths. No disrespect for the Orlando Magic, but they are one of the worst teams in the league.”
According to Green, Stephen Curry’s absence for the second game in a row is not an excuse.
“No, Steve won’t bring a level of physical fitness to the game,” he said. “This is not his job.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said things are changing without Curry in the squad.
“We have to look at our lineup, we have to tackle everything,” Kerr said. “…It’s like a domino effect. You saw me looking up formations tonight. But I was really disappointed in the fourth quarter. We didn’t run out at all in the fourth.”
The Warriors shot 7-for-24 without and failed to hit 3-pointers in the first quarter, trailing 25-12 before Porter and Thompson scored the final five points of the period.
Jonathan Kominga scored 10 points and four rebounds in the second quarter to keep the Warriors in position.
Golden State was 3-for-18 from a 3-point range until Paul, Porter and Thompson combined for five straight points in the five-minute run, giving the Warriors a 69-61 lead with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
Poole’s long 3-index at the start of the fourth quarter gave Golden State the first double-digit lead of the game with a score of 77-65.
“But we stayed involved in the game,” Anthony said. “We knew there were four quarters of a game, and we wouldn’t lose in a single moment like this.”
But Markel Fultz scored twice in the 13-0 hit from the Magic while the Warriors were goalless for nearly five minutes.
Thompson couldn’t avoid spoiling Wagner on his 3-point run in the final seconds.
“We killed three-point shooting in the last two games,” Kerr said. “I love these guys, but we have to learn how to win. At the moment, we don’t know how to win.”
Hint
Warriors: F Moses Moody missed a second game with right shoulder pain.
Magic: One week after announcing his exit from the season, The Magic announced that F Jonathan Isaac had undergone a “mini-surgical procedure” for a right hamstring injury. Isaac missed two consecutive seasons due to a ruptured left anterior cruciate ligament. …Jalen Suggs missed the fourth game in a row with a bruised right ankle. …The Magic has signed free agent G Jeff Dowtin to a 10-day contract.
next one
Warriors: Play in Miami on Wednesday night.
Magic: Play in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.