Draymond Green’s 13 Assists Couldn’t Solve Golden State’s Possession Problem

Draymond Green scored two points Saturday night, yet his passing shaped nearly every important stretch of Golden State’s overtime victory. Playing 34 minutes after being listed as questionable Friday, Green supplied 13 assists as the Warriors beat the Orlando Magic 126-119 at Chase Center.

His distribution gave Golden State answers. It did not give the Warriors permission to waste possessions.

Golden State committed 19 turnovers and allowed Orlando to collect 24 offensive rebounds. The Magic finished with 33 more field-goal attempts, 113 to 80, and turned a 16-point halftime deficit into a game that reached 110-110 after regulation. That is a remarkable amount of self-inflicted suspense for a team that shot 54% and eventually won its seventh straight game.

Green’s most important pass came in overtime, when the game still refused to settle. With 3:26 left, he found Yaxel Lendeborg for a 26-foot 3-pointer that put the Warriors ahead 117-112. Wendell Carter Jr. answered from deep at 3:06, and Tristan da Silva’s 3-pointer at 2:24 put Orlando in front 118-117. The pass created separation for a moment; it did not finish the possession battle.

Lendeborg kept contributing anyway. He finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in 37 minutes. After Orlando’s brief lead, Stephen Curry scored on an 8-foot shot and made the foul shot with 1:38 left.

Curry then added another 8-footer at 54.1 seconds, putting Golden State ahead 122-118. Lendeborg’s dunk with 11 seconds left and two free throws with 8.6 seconds remaining closed the door.

Curry was the cleanest closer on the floor, scoring 41 points on 13-for-19 shooting and making all 10 of his free throws. Orlando had one last chance to make the ending uncomfortable when Carter missed both foul shots with 1:15 remaining in overtime, attempts that could have tied the score at 120. Curry did not leave that opening unused.

Green’s passing had already carried the offense through the fourth quarter. He assisted Georges Niang on a 25-foot 3-pointer at 10:50 and a layup at 9:19, helping Golden State pull even at 85. With the score tied at 100, Green found Curry for a 26-foot 3-pointer with 1:47 left.

After da Silva tied the game again, Green fed Curry for another 25-footer at 1:01, producing a 106-103 lead.

Those were high-value decisions from a player who finished with 13 assists, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. He assisted on 13 of Golden State’s 43 made field goals; Curry added six assists and Al Horford four. The ball moved through Green in ways that made the Warriors difficult to guard when they kept the sequence intact.

But Green also committed an offensive-foul turnover with 1:25 left in the fourth quarter, when the score was 103-103. Orlando did not convert that possession, and Curry later made a layup when 25.2 seconds remained to put Golden State ahead 110-108. Jamal Cain’s putback with 1.5 seconds remaining tied the game. Green’s creation mattered, but so did the possessions his team surrendered.

Orlando’s extra chances came from more than one source. Cain had 12 rebounds, including four offensive boards, and scored 18 points. Carter added 19 points and 11 rebounds. Franz Wagner produced 30 points, 11 assists and six turnovers, while da Silva grabbed five offensive rebounds. The Magic shot 38%, but misses are less damaging when the offense keeps reclaiming them.

Golden State won the shooting contest and still made the night harder than necessary. The Warriors converted 15 3-pointers and 25 of 31 free throws, compared with Orlando’s 18 threes and 15 free throws. They also finished with only three offensive rebounds against Orlando’s 24.

The Magic had 14 turnovers, so this was not a model of ball security from either side; Golden State simply had less room for error because its own giveaways came alongside such a severe rebounding deficit.

The result keeps the Warriors at 7-3 and the Magic at 2-7 after Orlando’s fourth consecutive loss. After Friday’s questionable listing, Green played 34 minutes and delivered 13 assists. The availability question had its answer for this game; the possession problems remained.

The clearer answer came from the game itself: Golden State can create enough good shots to win, but it cannot keep asking Curry and Lendeborg to rescue possessions lost through turnovers and second chances. Ball movement is a strength. Possession control has to become its partner.

Sources

ESPN: final game record and play-by-play

Associated Press via ESPN: game reporting