The Magic are a fun, flawed team. Evidence of both attributes could be seen on Thursday night, when, after leading by 17 at one point in a game against Golden State, Orlando looked poised for a statement win against a surging Warriors squad. But God had other plans, and by God I mean the 6-foot-2 demon with No. 30 on his chest who goes by the name Steph Curry.
Curry scored a personal season-high 56 points on 16-of-25 shooting, 12 of those makes coming from three-point range. He hit one shot from well behind the half-court line shot to end the first half, and scored 22 points in the third quarter alone, outscoring the entire Magic team in that period. Whether it's invigoration from the arrival of Jimmy Butler (the Warriors have won seven of their last eight), or if he just had the juice flowing last night, Curry put on a prime performance, the likes of which we haven't often seen from him this year. The Warriors needed every bit of it to overcome Butler's off night and the aforementioned double-digit deficit.
Even the gaudy stats here don't do Curry's performance justice. He was a maestro all over the court that whole night. Anybody making the tired argument that the game isn't as good or fun in the three-heavy era must be forgetting about Curry, whose every shot is accompanied by the excitement of a rocket being shot into outer space. He makes it look good by making it look easy and smooth.
The way he moves around the court like a squirrel, the touch on his shots and layups, how rarely the ball even touches the rim, the constant taunting and tormenting of the opponent with pantomimed golf swings and sleep poses—all of it is so annoying and magical and unreal. He is our greatest shooter, and I hate him as much as I love him. No man should have that much power.
It feels important that this Curry outing came in a game where the Magic played really well. Paolo Banchero had almost as good a game as Curry, scoring 41 points on 16-of-27 shooting, and adding six rebounds and five assists. Franz Wagner chipped in with 27 points as well. As a team, the Magic shot 64 percent in the first half, but also committed 18 turnovers. This is a scrappy group that doesn't quite know how to be good yet, and this time it cost them their 14th loss of their last 20 games.
Last night, the Magic were helpless victims of Steph Curry's offensive explosion. They had to watch the show like the rest of us, as the Warriors racked up yet another win since the Butler trade. If this is Curry just getting warmed up, then the whole league should be put on notice, because he can still go nuclear at any time.
