Stephen Curry denied at rim by Khem Birch block
Friday 1 March 2019 09:52, UK
Stephen Curry was denied at the rim by a huge Khem Birch block as the Golden State Warriors lost to the Orlando Magic.
Curry scored 33 points but could not prevent the Warriors falling to their second straight defeat as the Magic outscored them 33-15 in the fourth quarter to record a memorable 103-96 win.
Birch played almost 18 minutes off the bench, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, but it was his defense that provided the highlights of the night.
With 2:22 to go in the third quarter, Curry snagged a rebound following a Magic miss and dribbled upcourt looking to push the pace. He evaded Magic guard Terrence Ross and advanced into the paint, thinking a lay-up was on the cards.
But the two-time league MVP didn't realise Birch had chased the play down the court and, as Curry attempted to score with a finger roll, the Magic forward swooped to reject his shot, pinning it shot to the backboard to deny the Warriors an easy deuce.
Click the video at the top of the page to watch Birch reject Curry at the rim, then click the click directly above to see more top plays from Thursday night's NBA action, including huge alley-oop dunks from Bam Adebayo, Mitchell Robinson and Birch's Magic team-mate Jonathan Isaac.
