By ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — Stephen Curry scored a season-high 56 points, making 12 3-pointers and outscoring Orlando by himself in the third quarter of another astounding performance, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Magic on Thursday night, Feb. 27.
Curry was 12 for 19 behind the arc in his NBA-record 26th career game with 10 or more 3-pointers. He was 16 of 25 overall and made all 12 of his free throws in Golden State’s fifth straight victory.
Paolo Banchero scored 41 points for the Magic and Franz Wagner added 27.
Curry had 22 points in the third quarter, in which Golden State turned a 14-point deficit into a five-point lead. Orlando managed 21 points in the period.
Quinten Post came off the Golden State bench with 18 points and five rebounds, including 10 straight Warrior points in the second period. Draymond Green had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
With Curry on the bench, the Warriors held the Magic scoreless for the first 3:08 of the fourth quarter, stretching a five-point lead to 12.
It was the Warriors’ seventh win in eight games since acquiring Jimmy Butler in a trade on Feb. 6. Butler had five points on 1-of-7 shooting with seven assists in 32 minutes.
Eighteen Magic turnovers, many of them unforced, kept the Warriors in the game in the first half despite 64% Orlando shooting. It was the Magic’s 14th loss in 20 games.
Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points, pulled down a season-high 19 rebounds and dished out seven assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Denver Nuggets, 121-112.
The two-time MVP helped Milwaukee offset another brilliant performance from Nikola Jokic, who shot 13 of 16 and had 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Jokichas 27 triple-doubles in the 53 games the three-time MVP has played this season.
This was the first matchup of the season between these two multiple-MVP winners. The Bucks play at Denver on March 26.
Brook Lopez added 22 points, Damian Lillard 19, Kyle Kuzma 16 and Gary Trent Jr. 15 for the Bucks, who have won five of their last six.
Jamal Murray scored 20 points for the Nuggets.
In Dallas, Kyrie Irving scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Mavericks to a 103-96 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Moses Brown, in his penultimate game on a 10-day contract, added 20 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes of his first start for the Mavericks.
Mark Williams had 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Hornets, who have lost five consecutive games and 16 of their last 19. Miles Bridges had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
In Phoenix, Zion Williamson had his first career triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Suns, 124-116, for their third straight victory.
CJ McCollum added 19 points in the opener of a two-game set in Phoenix to help New Orleans match its longest winning streak of the season.
Phoenix climbed out of an 18-point hole in the first half and had a 91-88 lead after three quarters. But the Pelicans dominated most of the fourth and Williamson made two tough buckets in the paint down the stretch to seal the win.
