Steph Goes for 40+ Again — and the Warriors Needed Every One in Overtime

Stephen Curry went for 40+ again, and Golden State needed all of it.

Curry scored 41 points on 13-of-19 shooting — 5-of-10 from three, a perfect 10-of-10 at the line — with 6 rebounds and 6 assists, and the Warriors beat the Orlando Magic 126–119 in overtime at Chase Center on Saturday night for their seventh straight win.

For a while it looked like it would be easy. Golden State ran out to a 57–41 halftime lead, and Curry's first three of the night, in the opening minutes, made it 100 straight regular-season games with a made three-pointer.

Then Orlando flipped the game. The Magic poured in 37 points in the third quarter to take a 78–77 lead into the fourth, doing it without Paolo Banchero (ankle), Jalen Suggs (knee) and Desmond Bane (illness), all out. Franz Wagner ran the show — 30 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds — and Golden State, playing without Jimmy Butler III (knee) and Kristaps Porziņģis (illness), had nobody left to hand the game to except Curry.

So Curry took it. Nineteen of his 41 came in the fourth quarter and overtime. The signature play came with 2:21 left in the fourth and the Warriors down two: Draymond Green found Curry, who came from behind the basket — from out of bounds — and finished at the rim to tie the game at 100, ending up on the floor by the Warriors' bench as Chase Center erupted.

Curry followed it with back-to-back threes at 1:47 and 1:01 to put Golden State up 106–103, then two free throws, then a driving layup with 25 seconds left for a 110–108 lead.

Orlando still wouldn't fold. Wendell Carter Jr. missed at the rim in the final seconds, but Jamal Cain crashed in for the putback with about two seconds left to tie it at 110 and force overtime. Cain finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds off the Magic bench.

Curry started overtime on the bench and checked back in with 3:48 left and Golden State up four. Orlando took its last lead, 118–117, on a Tristan da Silva three with 2:24 to play. Curry answered with a driving finger roll and the and-one free throw at 1:38 to put the Warriors back in front for good, then hit the same finger roll again with 54 seconds left — his 40th and 41st points — to make it 122–118.

Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg closed the door: he blocked Carter Jr. at the rim in the final minute of overtime, dunked with 11 seconds left, and hit the last two free throws. Lendeborg finished with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Brandin Podziemski added 15, and Green scored just 2 points but dealt 13 assists.

The five threes gave Curry at least five made threes in five straight appearances — 6 against Minnesota, 8 at the Lakers, 5 against Phoenix, 6 against Miami and 5 more tonight.

The 41 made history, too. It was Curry's 16th game of 40 or more since he turned 35 — the most in NBA history, passing LeBron James's 15, with Michael Jordan third at 12. The night also made him the seventh player ever with 26,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists, per Elias.

For Orlando, Carter Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds, da Silva scored 19, and Anthony Black put up 18 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks in the loss.