ORLANDO, Fla. _ With his 2-year-old daughter in the stands for the first time this season, forward Glenn Robinson III had one of his most reliable games as a member of the Warriors.
Robinson scored a team-high 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, as the Warriors lost to the Orlando Magic, 100-96, at Amway Center on Sunday. Though the Warriors (4-17) couldn't hang on, Robinson helped establish two late leads in the game.
With the Warriors trailing the Magic (8-11) by nine with 4:21 left in the first quarter, Robinson and rookie Eric Paschall powered a brief 8-2 run to cut the deficit to three. Then, Alec Burks' dunk in the second quarter capped off a 10-0 run as the Warriors took a 46-45 lead with 1:47 left in the first half.
During the run, Robinson hit a key 3-pointer that led to injured guard D'Angelo Russell (thumb) holding up three fingers on his braced right hand. By halftime, the Warriors erased a 12-point deficit and tied the game.
After entering the fourth quarter trailing the Magic 72-71, Robinson's corner 3-pointer gave the Warriors at 79-77 lead with 7:57 left in the game. Orlando retook the lead before the Warriors again battled back. Robinson hit another jumper to give the Warriors an 89-86 lead with just more than three minutes left.
Burks hit a 3-pointer to put the game within one with 33 seconds left. Then Magic guard Evan Fournier made a contested layup to extend Orlando's lead to 98-95 with 7 seconds left in the game. The Warriors did not have an answer for Fournier, who finished the game with 32 points on 13-of-21 shooting, including making six of his 10 3-point attempts. After Burks got fouled and split his free throws, the Warriors trailed by two with 6.3 seconds left.
As the Magic tried to inbound the ball, Robinson and Burks bothered forward Aaron Gordon and forced a five-second violation. The Warriors got the ball back and Green inbounded the ball to Robinson, who passed to Burks in the corner. Burks' got a good look at a go-ahead 3-point attempt, which bounced fruitlessly off the rim, ending the Warriors' chances of earning a win on the road.
Following a disappointing performance in Miami on Friday, the Warriors' defense was improved and they had six players score in double digits. Burks finished the game with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. Paschall scored 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Center Willie Cauley-Stein posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Forward Draymond Green and guard Ky Bowman chipped in 11 and 12 points each.
After missing all 10 of his shot attempts in Miami, Robinson bounced back and helped the Warriors stay in the game on Sunday.
Robinson is the only Warriors player to play and start in all 20 games this season. His performance on Sunday further illustrated how reliable he's been in a season filled with obstacles.
