The Orlando Magic arrived in the Bay to for a rematch with an old foe, Jimmy Butler. After the way the Warriors’ Florida trip went –  a loss to Orlando, missing the next game, and losing to Miami – Jimmy was ready to shake things up. Both teams have had staggering runs lately.

It started out looking like Orlando would beat the Warriors at home too. But the tide turned and the undermanned Magic suffered a blowout 97-120 loss. And Butler improved his career record against the Magic to a 27-15.

Orlando Magic vs Golden State Warriors player stats and box score

Orlando Magic

Golden State Warriors

Magic vs Warriors: Game summary and key moments

Contrary to their November 18 match, it was the Magic that was shorthanded with Jalen Suggs (bruised hip), Franz Wagner (sprained left ankle) and Moe Wagner (torn ACL) ruled out. This time it’s the Warriors who have depth, with Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry.

It almost looked like it was going the same way as the last time. After trailing Magic for the first quarter, the Warriors bounced back and took a minor 58-57 lead at halftime.

The most questionable moment came in Q3. Draymond Green and Steve Kerr got into a heated argument in a huddle. Instead of re-entering the game, Green went into the locker room to “cool off” as Kerr later put it. Green played less than 20 minutes and tallied 9 points and 7 rebounds.

Apart from that incident, cooler minds prevailed without the exhaustion of the last matchup. The Dubs statistically overpowered the Magic in assists, steals, blocks and defensive rebounds. Although 13 turnovers aren’t that great, they didn’t lose as many points as Orlando did on their turnovers (21 points off 18 turnovers).

Who are the top performers who stood out?

Jimmy Butler dipped into his old habit from his Miami days, tallying 16 points which were the highest by any player in the first half. He finished with 21 points, just a tad behind Stephen Curry’s game-high 26 points.

He had a tough matchup from Paolo Banchero from Orlando’s side. He caught up with 14 points in the first half and ended with 21 points too to match a game-high 12 rebounds.

Only Quinten Post matched his rebounds, although he was held to eight points. But it was Moses Moody (20) and Brandin Podziemski (16) who showed improved shooting efficiency individually. Moody was 8 for 11 from the field and made three of his six 3-point attempts. Podz was 6-for-10 from the field, 2-for-6 from the arc, and 2-for-3 from the free throw line.

Desmond Bane is still the ‘bane’ of Golden State, continuing his dominance from his Memphis era. He had 20 points on an 8-for-16 shooting.

Who Underperformed Tonight?

Will Richard, Quinten Post, and Pat Spencer were surprisingly underwhelming having not scored a single point in the first half. It’s a sharp contrast from the decent productivity the Warriors youngsters showed at the start of the season.

While Jonathan Kuminga had another DNP on Kerr’s decision, Richard and Gui Santos had zero points. Most of the Warriors’ bench barring Podz had single digits.

But it was Wendell Carter Jr’s lack of points that was a shocker after having double digit games before tonight. He finished with only 9 points despite being on the floor for half the game.

It wasn’t that the Warriors had depth as much as a Stephen Curry and a Jimmy Butler. The Magic had exhausted their entire limited rotation but their bench couldn’t give above five points to keep them in the game.

Their woes will likely continue when they head to Portland tomorrow. The Warriors get to rest till the Christmas Day showtime against the Mavericks.