Young duo Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero have guided the Orlando Magic to a 130-129 win, their second this season, while the Golden State Warriors hit a new low.
Banchero and Suggs combined for 48 points, overcoming 66 points between Steph Curry and Klay Thompson for Golden State, who has now lost four games in a row.
It was a career-best outing for Suggs, who also had four steals and nine assists, while Banchero stood up when the Magic needed him most after a quiet first half.
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The bench continues to be an issue for the Warriors, with coach Steve Kerr admitting post-game he is yet to find an answer with the rotation.
“We’ve got to find combinations that work off the bench. We’ll be making some changes,” he said.
“It feels like a bit of a championship hangover,” Kerr added.
The Warriors jumped out to an early 18-8 lead after five minutes, with Klay Thompson on fire from deep early, shooting 3-for-4 to score nine points.
It also saw Thompson (now 17th) pass J.R. Smith on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made list.
Kevon Looney (six points, one rebound and one assist) was also helping pace Golden State’s offence at that point.
The Magic though then went on a 14-12 run to take a 27-25 lead, with turnovers and fouls a key issue for the Warriors, whose second unit was also struggling to produce.
Golden State had already committed seven fouls with three minutes remaining in the opening quarter, allowing 11 free throws.
The two teams would go into the second quarter tied at 30-all, with Thompson still leading the Warriors with nine points while Looney had eight.
As for the Magic, Banchero was not enjoying the same success he had early in his rookie season, going scoreless in the opening quarter.
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It was Chuma Okeke instead who was leading the way, with 12 points, four rebounds and a block off the bench.
The points dried up for the Magic in the second quarter though, outscored 35-23 by the Warriors, who stopped fouling as much.
Banchero was still struggling to find his rhythm, shooting 1-for-6 for four points to go with four rebounds and three assists.
Suggs, meanwhile, had 10 points, four assists and two steals to do his part to make up for the No.1 pick’s off night.
As for Golden State, Thompson and Curry both led with 14 points while Looney and Andrew Wiggins (10 points) also hit double figures.
It was all the Warriors by halftime, with 17 more shots, seven more rebounds and 13 more second-chance points than the Magic.
That though flipped dramatically in the third quarter as Orlando outscored Golden State 43-33 to set up a thrilling final 12 minutes to the game.
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After a slow start, Banchero started to find his groove and carried the Magic offence even with the reserves on the floor as the rookie put up 12 points in the third quarter.
Banchero kept the offence rolling in the fourth too, although he got plenty of help from Suggs, who scored 15 points in the quarter.
Having only returned from an ankle injury earlier in the week, Suggs has now scored 20-plus points twice this season, including a 21-point effort against Detroit.
Both Thompson and Curry kept the Warriors in the game late with clutch 3-pointers and a late turnover from Banchero gave Golden State a shot to steal it at the death.
The Magic held on though, taking their second win of the year as the Warriors slumped to a fourth-straight defeat.
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GIDDEY SHOWS FLASHES AS THUNDER FALL TO NUGGETS
Australian Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continue to show plenty of promise but it was not enough for the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 122-110 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Giddey finished the game with 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting, including two 3-pointers, to go with five assists and a steal.
The Australian also had four turnovers though as he continues to work on the backcourt fit with Gilgeous-Alexander, who led all scorers with 37 points.
As for the Nuggets, all five starters finished on double figures, with Aaron Gordon (27 points, five rebounds, three assists, one block) making an impact on both ends of the floor.
Nikola Jokic, meanwhile, moved into sixth place on the all-time triple-double list with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists against Oklahoma City.
Jamal Murray also continues to get back into his rhythm after returning from a torn ACL, putting up 24 points to mark his first back-to-back 20-point games since April last year.
It was also the first time Murray had played over 30 minutes in two consecutive games.
The Nuggets started fast on Friday, going up 21-4 early after 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting from Aaron Gordon.
Back-to-back reigning MVP Nikola Jokic had not even scored at that point, although he did have four rebounds and five assists in the first seven minutes with Denver still well on top.
That was, until Oklahoma City scored seven in a row to close the gap to 21-11, seeing Nuggets coach Michael Malone call a timeout.
The timeout paid dividends for Denver, who went on a 14-7 run to reassert its dominance with a 35-18 lead and three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Oklahoma City then called a timeout of its own and Gilgeous-Alexander did his best to power the offence, scoring all 11 of the Thunder’s points for the remainder.
It would somewhat reduce Denver’s buffer after the first quarter but not by much, with the Nuggets still holding a 42-29 lead.
Denver’s offence picked up where it left off the first quarter, jumping out to a 51-32 lead before Oklahoma City worked its way back into the contest.
