By John DentonJuly 8, 2013
ORLANDO – Jeremy Lamb, one of the key pieces acquired in last fall’s controversial James Harden trade to Houston, drilled a step-back jumper with 6.3 seconds remaining to lift Oklahoma City past Orlando 79-78.
Lamb struggled with his shot most of the day, hitting just four of 16 shots and missing eight of nine 3-pointers. But he created space against Orlando defensive ace Maurice Harkless and sank the go-ahead jumper from the foul line in the final seconds.
Orlando (1-1) led by nine points with 3 minutes to play and squandered a seven-point lead in the final two minutes. The Thunder (2-0) led 8-7 early in the game and didn’t get the lead back until a layup by Dwight Buycks with 32 seconds remaining. Orlando’s Doron Lamb hit two free throws with 23 seconds remaining to give the Magic a brief 78-77 lead. After Lamb’s shot, Orlando turned the ball over on the inbounds pass to miss a chance to win the game.
Power forward Grant Jerrett had 14 points and four 3-pointers for the Thunder. He’s hit eight three-pointers in two games.
Orlando got 19 points from Andrew Nicholson, while Lamb poured in 16 points and two 3-pointers.
Magic rookie Victor Oladipo, the second overall pick in the draft, scored 12 points, but made just two of 12 shots. He did get to the free throw line 10 times in the second half, knocking down eight of them.
The Magic led by as much as nine early on and had a 38-34 edge at the half. Both teams struggled with their shooting early on as the Magic made just 35.1 percent of their shots and OKC hit only 34.3 percent.
Unlike on Sunday when he got off to a stellar star, Oladipo struggled mightily with his jump shot in Monday’s first half. He missed seven of his first eight tries, including three misses from 3-point tries. He did get to the rim for a layup and handed out three assists in the first half.
Lamb, who has gotten rave reviews from the Magic for the tireless work that he’s put in this summer to improve his strength and fitness, continued his strong play in the first half. A day after making all three of his 3-point shots and scoring 13 points, Lamb had 12 points and two more 3-pointers in Monday’s first half.
Orton, a 2010 first-round draft pick by the Magic, burned his former team for nine points and six rebounds in the first half. OKC point guard Reggie Jackson had the play of the first half when he split a double team and dunked over two Magic defenders.