Curry becomes first player to make 300 3s in a single season vs Magic
OAKLAND, CA (AP) - As all the records keep piling up for Stephen Curry, he is far from ready to pick a favorite.
There's still too much yet to accomplish — like that best-ever Bulls' mark of 72 wins, another championship, maybe the MVP again.
Curry scored 41 points and became the first player in NBA history to make 300 3-pointers in a season, and the Golden State Warriors set another record in a season full of them by holding off the Orlando Magic 119-113 Monday night for their 45th straight home victory.
"To have protected our home court 45 straight games in the regular season, it hasn't been done in history, so that's a pretty special accomplishment," Curry said. "That win record is still in reach."
Curry didn't match his 51-point performance against the Magic on Feb. 25 in which he hit 10 of 15 3-pointers, but shot 7 for 13 from long range and also pulled down 13 rebounds. He has 301 3s with 20 games to go.
Golden State surpassed the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' 44 straight regular-season home victories and improved to 27-0 at Oracle Arena this season.
Klay Thompson added 27 points for the Warriors (56-6), who overcame a season-high 24 turnovers to bounce back from an ugly 112-95 road loss to the Lakers on Sunday that snapped a seven-game winning streak.
Coach Steve Kerr said the "46 turnovers in the last 36 hours, inexcusable. ... If we don't get that cleaned up then we're in big trouble."
"What we have to get back to is simple, simple, simple," he said. "The simple leads to the spectacular."
The Warriors are still chasing the Bulls' record 72-win season. Golden State's home winning streak includes the final 18 games of last season before the franchise's run to its first championship in 40 years. The Warriors haven't lost a regular-season game at Oracle Arena since falling to the Bulls in overtime on Jan. 27, 2015.
Draymond Green told the fans afterward: "45 straight home wins is incredible. Without you all, this would not be possible."
Victor Oladipo capped a 7-0 run when he made two free throws with 1:13 left to cut the Warriors' lead to two. Thompson then hit a baseline 3-pointer under pressure with 52.5 seconds remaining and Curry followed with a layup and two free throws.
Aaron Gordon had 20 points and 16 rebounds in his Bay Area homecoming on a night Orlando played without leading scorer and center Nikola Vucevic because of a strained right groin.
During one impressive sequence late in the third, Curry dribbled inside of the arc then back out before knocking down a 3 while being guarded by 6-foot-10 Ersan Ilyasova.
Green had 10 assists and nine rebounds with one point after being questionable earlier in the day with an illness that sent him to see a doctor during the team's morning shootaround. Golden State shot 16 for 35 from beyond the arc.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Kerr wants the Warriors to pick it up on the defensive end — sooner rather than later — before the pressure of the playoffs and quest for a repeat title.
Golden State doesn't typically hold shootarounds before playing on consecutive days, but with an early start Sunday at Los Angeles, Kerr "felt we needed to come in and do some things."
"I think there's been some slippage defensively the last few weeks and I think the numbers would bear that out," Kerr said. "So we need to pick up our defense, we need to pick up our intensity. We're able to bail ourselves out at times with our shooting and scoring but we know that's not good enough against the best teams in the playoffs."
TIP-INS
Magic: Gordon, from San Jose, played in front of a large group of family and friends in his first game at Oracle Arena. "It's an awesome feeling," he said. ... Vucevic tried to go through shootaround earlier in the day to no avail, coach Scott Skiles said. Vucevic also missed three games Nov. 6-9 with a bone bruise in his right knee.
Warriors: F Andre Iguodala sat out for the third time in four games with tightness in his left hamstring. Kerr said Iguodala still felt something in the leg Monday morning. "If this were a playoff game, he'd be playing," Kerr said. ... Green had his 15th game this season with double-digit assists. ... Golden State is 15-1 in the second game of back-to-backs this season. Since the start of last season, the Warriors are 30-5 in the second game when playing on consecutive nights. ... A moment of silence was held for the passing of former first lady Nancy Reagan.
UP NEXT
Magic: Visit the Lakers on Tuesday.
Warriors: Host Utah on Wednesday.