Takeaways from Warriors' Win Over Magic: Steph Sets Clutch-Scoring Record

Behind 41 points from Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors (7-3) beat the Orlando Magic (2-7) 126-119 in overtime on Saturday at Chase Center.

Curry set the record for the most 40-point games after turning 35, and he did it by making some of the most ridiculous shots you'll ever see.

Curry also set a clutch-scoring record, which I'll dive into in my first of three takeaways from Saturday's thriller.

Curry Erases Any Conditioning Concerns by Setting Clutch-Scoring Record

Curry went 4-of-4 on shots to take the lead in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime against the Magic.

Here's a quick recap of those:

- 100-100 with 1:47 to go in regulation: Curry comes off Yaxel Lendeborg off-ball screen and hits three
- 103-103 with 1:01 to go in regulation: Curry comes off dribble-handoff screen from Draymond Green and hits three
- 108-108 with 25 seconds left in regulation: Curry makes running floater/hook shot that Steve Kerr said was an "impossible" shot
- Down 118-117 with 1:38 to go in OT: Curry drives past double-team and makes finger roll while getting fouled

Curry became the first player to make at least four go-ahead field goals in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime without missing one in the tracking era (h/t Automatic on X). The tracking era goes back to the 1996-97 season.

Going into Saturday's game, the only blemish on Curry's early season resume was struggles in the clutch. He had his fingerprints all over the Dubs' collapse against the Grizzlies.

It was fair to wonder whether he was simply getting more gassed late in games than he used to as a 38-year-old coming off a serious knee injury.

Well, anyone with those concerns can put them to rest after Saturday's clutch masterpiece.

Warriors' Center Need Looks Even More Glaring

The Warriors are actually 11th in the NBA in rebounding percentage at 50.5 percent, which would suggest they don't have a major rebounding problem.

But then you watch a game like Saturday's and wonder how they aren't getting destroyed on the glass every game.

The Magic outrebounded the Warriors 57-42, and on the offensive glass, it was a 24-3 Orlando advantage. Overall, the Magic had 33 second-chance points to the Warriors' two.

Orlando doesn't have one massive center, but it does have a lot of collective size. The Magic got six offensive rebounds from 6'10" center Wendell Carter Jr., five offensive rebounds from 6'8" forward Tristan da Silva, four offensive rebounds from 6'7" forward Jamal Cain and three offensive rebounds from 6'7" guard Anthony Black.

The Warriors aren't going to solve their collective size issues with one trade this season, but they could get a rebound-inhaling center who makes those issues less problematic.

The question is, who should they target?

Bulls center Jalen Smith is an option, as he's averaging 12.4 rebounds per 36 minutes, ranking 16th in the NBA.

In the meantime, the Warriors have a possible solution on their roster in Charles Bassey.

Bassey is averaging 15.7 rebounds per 36 minutes, ranking second in the NBA.

There's no doubt that Bassey has earned more playing time—he had eight points and four rebounds in 11 minutes on Saturday—but the Warriors could use another center to solidify the rotation, and they should be able to trade for one with Kristaps Porzingis' contract as a money-matcher.

Warriors Win a Game They Would Have Lost Last Year

The Warriors' clutch record was 17-22 last season, but anecdotally, it felt worse than that. The games that were truly decided by one play in the last minute of the game rarely went their way.

This year, the Dubs are 3-1 in clutch games. Their loss to the Grizzlies could have a set a tone that they would have more clutch issues this season, but instead they held on against the Timberwolves before beating the Suns and Magic with gritty finishes.

We need a larger sample size before we can declare that this team is above-average in clutch games, but one thing that made a difference this time was Kerr's decision to rest Curry and Green at the beginning of overtime.

The Warriors won their 72 seconds without Curry and Green by two points, which was crucial considering the Magic were coming into overtime with momentum by making the game-tying shot with 1.5 seconds left in regulation.

The Dubs seem to have more self-belief this year. Lendeborg has played a big role in that, but it extends to Bassey, Georges Niang and Brandon Williams providing real impact off the bench.

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