Golden State set a season low with 31.9 percent shooting and matched its season low in total points.

"Well," Nelson said, "the good news for us was that the game was over early enough that I didn't have to burn up all of my starters for (today at Miami)."

Not even guard Jamal Crawford, he of 50-point fame, could get the Warriors offense going. By comparison, his 18 points on 7-for-21 shooting didn't look so bad. The other starters guard Marco Belinelli, forward Kelenna Azubuike, forward Brandan Wright, center Andris Biedrins combined to go 10-for-33 from the field.

The Warriors, acutely aware of the massive presence of Dwight Howard in the middle, settled for jumper after jumper, perhaps too many of the difficult variety. Even with their new motion-oriented, drive-and-kick offensive scheme, the Warriors couldn't get a rhythm going.

Their 16 assists Golden State's lowest output since the 123-88 massacre at San Antonio on Dec. 6, which prompted the switch in offensive philosophy were more a product of their icy shooting hand than their lack of ball movement.

"We just couldn't get it going," Azubuike said. "They're just a really good team. ... The shot selection wasn't too bad. It could've been better, but I don't think that's going to change."

The Warriors defense, headed up by Smart since Friday's game at Atlanta, wasn't so bad Monday, considering the quality of the opponent. The Magic shot a high percentage, knocking down 48.2 percent of its field goal attempts. And Smart, and his assistant defensive coordinator Sidney Moncrief, will have a field day in the film session pointing out the poor rotations and lazy close-outs that led to open looks from 3-point range. Orlando knocked down 15 of 31 from deep.

Still, Golden State, which came into the game giving up a league-high 111.9 points per game, held its own against the Magic.

The Warriors were outrebounded by only three (55-52). The Magic's 11 offensive rebounds were well short of the 14.75 the Warriors give up per game on average. Howard had 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes hardly a dominant performance by arguably the league's best center. Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu was held to 12 points on 3-for-10 shooting. Even Orlando point guard Jameer Nelson's 22 points on 9-for-9 shooting was an improvement over the last meeting, when he dropped a career-high 32 on the Warriors in Oakland on Dec. 15.

The Magic had 87 points after three quarters. But the game was over by the start of the fourth quarter because of the Warriors' inept offense. Golden State had just 66 points after three quarters, prompting Nelson to bench his starters.

The Warriors showed some life at the end of the first half and the start of the second. After a Rashard Lewis 3-pointer at the 3:38 mark in the second quarter, the Warriors trailed 48-31. But Golden State put together a 14-5 run to close the half. Crawford, who scored 50 in Saturday's win at Charlotte, started the run with a 3-pointer, and guard Anthony Morrow followed with a 3-pointer of his own before getting a tip-in at the horn. The Magic's lead was down to 53-45.

The Warriors came out of the locker room still warm. Crawford, Belinelli and Azubuike knocked down three straight jumpers to start the third quarter, and a Crawford 3-pointer cut Orlando's lead to 58-54 with 9:49 left, forcing the Magic to call a timeout.

But Golden State missed eight of its next 12 shots, all eight of the bricks from farther than 15 feet. Meanwhile, the Magic pushed its lead back to 18. And, suddenly, Gilbride looked that much more attractive.

Contact Marcus Thompson II at mthomps2@bayareanewsgroup.com.Magic 113,Warriors 81TODAY: at Heat, 4:30 p.m. TV: CSNBA. Radio: 680-AM