The Warriors have a lot of reasons for optimism, none more important than the monster who awakened Thursday night in Orlando.

Stephen Curry ignited his own third-quarter explosion with a 50-footer at the halftime horn, then capped a 56-point performance with his 11th and 12th 3-pointers to protect a late lead that resulted in the Golden State Warriors' 121-115 victory over the host Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

"Stephen Curry changed the way the game is played, as now, basically every player on the floor wants to shoot threes, and needs to be able to hit them for your offense to keep up with modern scoring.