By Field Level Media
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Stephen Curry goes off for 56, rallies Warriors past Magic

(FLM) — Stephen Curry ignited his own third-quarter explosion with a 50-footer at the halftime horn, then capped a 56-point performance with 11th and 12 3-pointers to protect a late lead that resulted in the Golden State Warriors’ 121-115 victory over the host Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

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Curry’s 56 points were the fourth-most of his career and his 12 threes equaled his second-most, helping the Warriors win their fifth in a row and their seventh in eight games since acquiring Jimmy Butler in an in-season trade.

In the opener of a five-game trip, the Warriors trailed by 17 before Curry let fly from well beyond half court as the teams began exiting for the intermission. The shot swished, giving Curry 21 points in the half, but leaving the Warriors with a 66-52 deficit.

Quinten Post had 10 early points in the third quarter, but the period belonged mostly to Curry, who added 22 points to his total as the Warriors erupted for 40 to take a 92-87 lead.

Led by Paolo Banchero’s 41 points, the Magic got within 108-104 with 2:56 remaining and later even closer at 111-109 with 1:55 left. But Curry countered both times with 3-pointers, allowing Golden State to retain a lead the rest of the way.

Kyrie Irving gets Mavs back on track vs. Hornets

(FLM) — Kyrie Irving poured in 25 points while powering the Dallas Mavericks past the visiting Charlotte Hornets 103-96 on Thursday.

Irving, who tallied 19 points in the second half, tied his season best with nine rebounds.

Moses Brown tacked on season bests of 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Klay Thompson logged 18 points as the Mavericks ended a two-game skid.

Mark Williams (26 points, 16 rebounds) and Miles Bridges (20 points, 12 rebounds) both picked up double-doubles for the Hornets, who absorbed their fifth loss in a row.

Dallas led by nine early in the fourth quarter before Charlotte twice pulled level, the second time on a Williams floater that made it 85-85 with 6:06 to go.

The Mavericks were up by two before Irving took control with under five minutes remaining. He hit two mid-range baskets and completed a three-point play on the second to give the Mavericks a 94-87 advantage with 4:09 to go.

A pair of layups by Bridges brought Charlotte within three points with three minutes to go, but Thompson drilled a 3-pointer, Irving hit a short floater and Brown dunked create a 10-point gap with 53.4 seconds left.

After a slow start in which the Hornets fell as far as 11 points behind, they closed out the first quarter on an 8-0 run to get within 25-24.

Early in the second quarter, KJ Simpson and Nick Smith Jr. nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Hornets a 30-25 lead.