Stephen Curry Rues Kevin Durant Absence As Warriors Lose To Magic

Stephen Curry cut a frustrated figure after the Golden State Warriors lost their second game on the trot and this time against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center on Thursday night. Their previous loss came Wednesday against the Miami Heat and both the teams are currently outside the playoff places and are expected to be beaten by the reigning champions.

The six-time NBA All-Star praised his Warriors teammates for their aggressiveness on the court, but that was not enough as they went down 103 – 96. The Warriors were without Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala for the game against Magic and that made a big difference.

Curry, Klay Thompson, and DeMarcus Cousins contributed 75 of the 96 points with the rest of the team contributing the rest. Durant has been a consistent presence in the team averaging 27.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game and Curry admits that his contribution was sorely missed.

Steve Kerr opted to rest the two-time NBA Finals MVP and it was his first no-show of the season. The coach will be keen to keep him fresh going into the latter stages of the campaign, especially with the Warriors carrying a big target on their backs owing to being the favorites for a third straight title.

“Everybody just be aggressive out there in their minutes,” Curry said after the Warriors’ loss, as quoted by the Express. “JB was awesome tonight, Klay was aggressive. We had a lot of good looks all game."

“You just got to understand that’s 28 points not there, so it’s tough. Earlier in the year when I was out, it was the same kind of vibe. We have to play like we did tonight, just finish the last six or seven minutes stronger,” he added referring to his injury earlier in the season.

The Warriors point guard was frustrated due to the manner of the loss, especially since they entered the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead. The reigning champions were then outscored 33-15 in the final quarter that saw them ending up seven points behind at the final buzzer.

Curry admitted that he was “very aggressive” due to Durant and Iguodala’s absence – he ended the night with 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. But that was not enough as they were not good enough in the final phase of the game.

“It was frustrating end considering how we ended the third quarter,” Curry added. “We pretty much dominated the game. It’s frustrating. We played really hard. Back-to-back with two key guys out [made it hard]. I was extremely aggressive with KD out and Andre [Iguodala] out as playmakers. It just didn’t work down in the fourth quarter.”

The Denver Nuggets had a chance to snatch top spot in the Western Conference when they faced Utah Jazz later in the day, but they too fell 104-111 keeping them in second place but just half a game behind the championship favorites.