Recap: Thunder at Magic

Box Score: OKC 115, ORL 126

By Nick Gallo and Paris Lawson | okcthunder.com

The Thunder, fresh off an OKC-best 150 points on Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics, drove straight from Paycom Center to the Oklahoma City airport for a two-and-a-half hour flight to Orlando to take on the Magic on Wednesday night. 

The Magic, on the other hand, hadn’t played since Friday December 30, giving this game a strange imbalance in fresh legs in the midst of an exciting battle between two of the NBA’s youngest squads. Orlando was energetic to start, ripping off an 11-0 run in the first quarter and a 7-0 burst in the second frame, but as it has done all year the Thunder responded after halftime, finishing the third quarter with a 12-3 stretch.

Eventually, the Thunder turned a 22-point deficit into just a 7-point Magic advantage early in the fourth quarter. Orlando’s number 1 overall pick from the 2022 NBA Draft Paolo Banchero knocked down a pair of jump shots after that, pushing the lead back out to double figures. Ultimately the Thunder’s final push wasn’t enough to complete the comeback, as it fell 126-115. 

Nick: On back to back defensive possessions it was Thunder rookie Jalen Williams staying active in the passing lanes to make a pair of steals, one of which led to a run-out slam dunk. Williams racked up 4 steals in Tuesday night’s game against Boston, then followed it up with a career-high 5 steals on Wednesday in Orlando. The slam dunk was Williams’ team-leading 35th of the season. 

Paris: Shai Gilgoeus-Alexander made his return to the starting lineup on Wednesday and wasted no time getting back to his bread and butter. The fifth-year guard finished the first frame with 11 points – six of which came in the paint and the other five from the free throw line as he went a perfect 5-for-5. 

Paris: Jalen Williams attached to the rim, drew the attention of all five Orlando defenders and sent the ball out to the perimeter where Mike Muscala stood wide open on the right wing. The veteran sank the triple with ease which marked his second 3-pointer of the night triple of the night – both of which came on catch-and-shoot looks on the right wing. 

Nick: After a Magic turnover, Josh Giddey rifled a baseball pass the length of the floor to Kenrich Williams, who soared up into the air and caught the ball under the rim. His momentum taking him towards the baseline, Kenrich made a heads up play to kick the ball back out to the perimeter before he fell out of bounds. Lu Dort waited patiently on the wing, made the catch and immediately buried a three-pointer, one of 3 makes for the fourth-year guard in the game, the 13th time this season he’s hit 3-or-more three-pointers in a game.

Nick: The microwave offense of Isaiah Joe continued on the road as the Thunder’s sharpshooter knocked down a trio of three-pointers in quick succession in the third quarter to pull the Thunder back within striking distance. Joe’s first make from behind the arc came off a second chance, as Lindy Waters III swooped in for an offensive rebound. Then after a defensive stop, Joe buried a catch-and-shoot look from his spot on the left wing from a ridiculous one-handed wrap-around pass from Gilgeous-Alexander all the way from the right block. Joe scored 11 of his 33 total points in the game in the third, as OKC outscored the Magic by 10 in the quarter, the 9th time the Thunder has accomplished that feat in the third this season. 

Paris: Lindy Waters III climbed the ladder under the rim and blocked the shot of Orlando’s 7-foot center Mo Bamba. On the other end of the floor, Waters received the ball on the left wing, and without hesitation made an extra pass to the corner to an open Isaiah Joe who cashed in his third 3-pointer of the game. The bucket brought the Thunder’s deficit down to just single digits and helped fuel the team’s 9-0 run to close out the third frame. 

Nick: 24 hours after being unable to play against Boston with an illness, Gilgeous-Alexander was relentless in the final few minutes with some hustle plays that helped keep the scoreboard moving for his team. First he made a hard-nosed drive and got hooked on his arm and thrown to the ground, but popped up to make both free throws. One possession later, Shai rushed to track down a loose ball and got fouled because he was first to the spot.

Paris: While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander remained the steady presence at the free throw line for the Thunder throughout the night with his career high-tying 17 made free throws, the Magic had their own fair share of trips to the charity stripe. Paulo Banchero led the way with 9 attempts of his own and as a group, Orlando put up 36 attempts for the game. There were a combined 67 free throw attempts on the night which marked the third most combined attempts in the NBA this season. 

The Thunder returns to Oklahoma City for a day of rest. The team will be back in action on Friday night to host the Washington Wizards inside of Paycom Center.