SAN FRANCISCO — Here are five observations from the Golden State Warriors’ 121-115 home win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night, bumping them to 16-17 on the season.
Klay Thompson’s sound bite
Thompson might’ve been the Warriors’ third- or fourth-most important player on Tuesday night. He was limited to nine minutes because of foul trouble in the first half, responded well in the third quarter, had some timely buckets late, stood up well defensively in the Paolo Banchero assignment and even dunked for the first time this season.
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His final stat line: 15 points, three rebounds, two assists, three 3s, a plus-4 in 25 minutes. Solid performance, but not the most notable storyline to emerge from the win over the Magic … until he took the podium postgame and redirected his last answer of the night into probably his most revealing soundbite of the season.
After the previous loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Steve Kerr talked about the need for an energy shift within his struggling team, away from an individual path and back to an all-in approach to wins. He wasn’t only talking about Thompson, but it’s clear that Thompson’s brooding outward reactions to his slump this season have added to a frustrated vibe.
On Monday, Kerr took that conversation directly to Thompson and the two had an introspective discussion that appears to have impacted the way he plans to approach the season.
“That helped me relax a lot,” Thompson said. “Sometimes I forget just how successful and how lucky I’ve been to be part of a championship team, All-Star games, gold medals. You want to get back to that level so badly you can kind of get in your own way. Rather than forcing it, we had a conversation about enjoying the last chapter of my career, how lucky I truly am to still be playing this game, doing it at a high level, being a better mentor for these young guys, leading by example, having my energy right every game.
“He helped me realize if I do have negative energy how that affects the team in a poor manner. So we had a great conversation that helped me change my whole mindset and forget about shooting splits or points per game or All-Star games and just to enjoy being in this Warriors uniform and appreciate what we’ve built. Because it’s such a rare opportunity for a professional athlete to be a part of so much success and to pass that torch to the young guys and keep this thing going.”
Pretty revealing Klay Thompson postgame soundbite about a conversation he had with Steve Kerr yesterday regarding the need to improve his negative energy, be a better mentor and enjoy the last chapter of his career rather than obsess over stats/performance pic.twitter.com/a9wIxhnkGh
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 3, 2024
The good
The Magic are a respectable team. They entered the night 19-13 with two of the league’s better rising young wings — Banchero and Franz Wagner — and a group of active, long role players around them. This was always going to be a difficult matchup for the Warriors.
So it’s one of their better wins this season. Steph Curry busted out of his mini-slump for 35 points, his most in a few weeks, making 12 of 20 shots and four of his nine 3s. He had an and-1 on a 3 in the Warriors’ final possession of the second quarter and a stepback 3 in crunchtime that Thompson felt was the dagger.
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“That was ridiculous,” Thompson said.
All five Warriors starters were in double figures for the first time all season — a new starting lineup that puts Curry and Thompson next to Chris Paul, Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
Paul is starting to find his jumper. He made all three of his 3s against the Magic and has made 13 of his 21 attempted 3s the last four games, bringing his season percentage from deep to nearly 36 percent after a frigid start.
“It ain’t ever felt bad,” Paul said. “I’ve been a shooter my whole life. If it don’t go in, still you gotta keep shooting.”
Andrew Wiggins also crept into double digits, scoring 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. But he was limited to 21 minutes because Kuminga performed so well. Kuminga was mostly matched up against Wagner, a pairing with a backstory. The Warriors were debating between Kuminga and Wagner with the seventh pick in 2021. They selected Kuminga and the Magic took Wagner eighth.
“He wasn’t into the ball enough in the first half and Wagner was getting downhill,” Kerr said. “His defense picked up in the second half.”
Kuminga guarded well in the fourth quarter and finished with 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. He was a plus-10.
The bad
Gary Payton II, in his second game back following a long layoff to deal with a calf issue, was one of the Warriors’ more impactful players. He was a plus-10 in his 10 minutes, picking up the tempo, guarding full court and flying in for a righty layup on one of his last possessions.
His night ended early because Payton was again injured. Trying to navigate over a screen while defending full court, Payton appeared to step wrong and tumbled to the floor, immediately grabbing at the back of his left leg. He was visibly upset, at one point grabbing his headband and spiking it to the floor before limping to the locker room.
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The diagnosis came quickly. It’s a left hamstring strain. The Warriors haven’t provided a timetable, but it’s clear Payton will miss a chunk of time again. He’s only appeared in 16 games this season.
The ugly
Curry dropped in that spectacular and-1 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left in the second quarter, putting the Warriors up three heading into halftime. But the score was then tied at 55 by the final buzzer because they gave up this wide-open corner 3.
Crucial defensive mix up for the Warriors to close the first half. Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins both float away from Gary Harris in the corner, gifting a 3. Orlando inbounded under their own hoop with 3.5 seconds left. pic.twitter.com/EN2733Zz1y
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 3, 2024
For a team that plays with a razor-thin margin — the Warriors have been in an NBA-leading 26 clutch time games — small mistakes or a brief mental lapse can cost them an important win. Curry knows that. He took the blame for leaving Gary Harris open for that corner 3.
“I gave up that,” Curry said. “You can put that on me. I definitely did that. It’s the simple things we haven’t done well to execute. Those could be swing possessions that change the momentum. Coach (Bob) McKillop used to call it Big Mo going into halftime. I lost Gary in transition, not knowing how much time was left. Thankfully we responded in the second half. But those are the things from a focus and execution standpoint I have to get better at and we all have to get better at if we’re going to take that next leap as a team.”
Draymond non-update
Tuesday night was the 10th game of Draymond Green’s indefinite suspension. Although he is permitted to be in the Warriors’ facility and allowed to practice with the team, he has not been around, according to Kerr.
“We’ve been giving him his space,” Kerr said. “He’s been giving us ours.”
There isn’t much to update.
Tonight will be the 10th game of Draymond Green’s indefinite suspension. Steve Kerr said Green still hasn’t been in the facility. They’ve had some text communication. But no next step update as of now.
“We’ve been giving him his space, he’s been giving us ours.” pic.twitter.com/NMsOfKrSMV
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 3, 2024
(Photo of Klay Thompson and Paolo Banchero battling for a loose ball: D. Ross Cameron / USA Today)
