Matt Steinmetz

The Warriors finally looked like they had some fun on Thursday night, though there was a logical explanation: The Orlando Magic were in town. The Warriors got well  very early against the Magic and stayed healthy the whole way in a 122-92 blowout at Oracle.

It was the Warriors’ second straight victory, but the win they were coming off of was a very ordinary, very shaky 106-104 win over Philly. Golden State has lost five of their past nine overall. But it looks like the Warriors may be coming out of their slump as they were having fun, moving the ball and knocking down shots.

LINK TO “WARRIORS WRAPUP” WILL BE POSTED WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE.

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 29 points and Stephen Curry had 25. Curry has been mired in a 3-point shooting slump the past eight games and that continued against the Magic, with him going 2-for-7 from beyond the arc. In his past nine games, Curry is 25-for-96 from 3-point range (26 percent).

Everything else was solid, though for Curry, who hit most of his two-point shots as well, finishing 8-for-15 from the floor, and handing out nine assists and committing just two turnovers. For what it’s worth, the Warriors clinched the Pacific Division crown with the win — for the third consecutive year.

It was kind of a Bad News Bears type of night for the Magic. For example, coach Frank Vogel called five timeouts in the first half, none of which ever really helped in terms of changing momentum. Also, how’s this for a weird one: Orlando received a technical foul for having six players on the court … after a timeout. Yikes!

The Warriors (54-14) moved 1.5 games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs in the battle for homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

On Sal and Steiny podcast No. 92, we addressed several topics, including the Warriors’ struggles, Stephen Curry’s slump, the Raiders leaving for Las Vegas, the 49ers’ newfound credibility, the new arena in San Francisco and why someone would smash the windows of five cars on Dolores Street.

We taped this show from the Pacific Coast Brewing Company in downtown Oakland on Wednesday, March 15. Here’s a link to Sal and Steiny podcast No. 92.

Hard to believe but we just endured the worst stretch of Warriors’ basketball in the Steve Kerr era. That’s right, the Warriors had lost 5 of 7 games and three in a row, something they hadn’t done in nearly three years.

What’s wrong with the Warriors? It seems apparent it’s more than just missing Kevin Durant. It’s also that Curry is mired in the biggest shooting slump of his career, and if the season were to end today he’d have the lowest 3-point field goal percentage of his career — by a lot.

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The Warriors won a game on Tuesday night, but that doesn’t mean they’re out of their funk. Not at all. They struggled for the better part of three quarters against Philly at Oracle Arena before scratching, clawing and coming to life in a 106-104 win.

The Warriors (53-14), who moved a half-game ahead of San Antonio for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, had lost 5 of their previous 7 games and three straight. In other words, the worst stretch of basketball in the Steve Kerr era.

LINK TO “WARRIORS WRAPUP,” THE POSTGAME SHOW ON 95.7-FM.

They extended that worst stretch for 36 minutes, falling behind by as many as 16 points to the Sixers. But Golden State put a stranglehold on the Sixers over the final 12 minutes, holding them to just 14 points. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 29 points, but he wasn’t the team’s best player nor did he emerge from a recent shooting slump. Kerr went 8-for-23 from the floor, including 5-for-13 from beyond the arc.

The game was mostly about Draymond Green, though, who did it all in the win. Green finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, six blocks and four steals. Green not only put up numbers against Philly, it was his demeanor, activity and edge that brought the team’s energy level up down the stretch.

LINK: WARRIORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP PATH WILL BE MUCH HARDER THIS YEAR THAN IN PAST.