Player grades: SGA’s 37 points leads Thunder to 112-100 win over Magic.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Matching up with Paolo Banchero, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beat him to the basket to hit the reserve layup. The highlight shot gave OKC a double-digit lead with a little over four minutes left.
The Oklahoma City Thunder picked up their sixth consecutive home victory in a 112-100 win over the Orlando Magic. A 27-11 record now has the Thunder tied for first place in the Western Conference standings.
“That was a really, really good well-earned win by us,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “Defense I thought was on it. I thought we did a really good job on Banchero… I thought offensively, we really generated great shots for a lot of the floor game.”
A sluggish start saw the Thunder create a 23-21 advantage following the first quarter. By halftime, that lead grew to a low-scoring 49-43. Coming out of the break, the Thunder’s potent offense returned to form. A 37-point third quarter helped OKC enter the final frame with an 86-73 lead.
Less than three minutes into the final frame, the SGA-less Thunder lineup created a game-high 16-point lead. The fourth quarter didn’t provide much drama as the closest the Magic got was within six points. OKC did an excellent job at keeping distance on the scoreboard the rest of the way.
Outside of a small blemish in the first frame, OKC led for the entire night as the short-handed Magic battled fatigue and injuries on the second night of a road back-to-back.
“I think we’re starting to figure out what it takes to win games,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That’s the only thing on our minds.”
The Thunder shot 46% from the field and went 8-of-36 (22.2%) from 3. OKC shot 18-of-21 from the free-throw line. All five starters scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 37 points and seven assists. The All-NBA player received several notable ‘MVP’ chants during his busy night ar the free-throw line. Jalen Williams had 16 points and Chet Holmgren had 15 points.
“We’ve had a very unselfish spirit really the whole season,” Daigneault said on their offensive flow. “They work together to find the best shots and they work together to find the best advantages.”
Meanwhile, the Magic shot 46% from the field and went 7-of-35 (20%) from 3. Orlando struggled from the free-throw line as it went 15-of-24.
Banchero scored a team-high 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting. Caleb Houstan contributed with 14 points and went 4-of-12 from 3. Off the bench, Cole Anthony scored 14 points and Anthony Black scored 13 points.
The absences of Franz Wagner and several other players were notable as the Magic never generated an offensive flow in a contest that had no real flow to it.
Even though their shot didn’t fall at the clip they’ve recently grown accustomed to, the Thunder picked up another solid win over the improved Magic.
“Stops because we did not shoot well,” Williams said. “Anytime you can hold a team to (100 points) or kinda below that like we’ve been able to do last couple of games, it makes having odd nights a lot easier.”
This was a neat way to wrap up a quick two-game homestand before returning to the grueling road as they begin a four-game road trip.
“We did a great job at manufacturing a win there on a night where we didn’t shoot it particularly well,” Daigneault said. “We did it with pace and we did it with rebounding. I think we’ve stayed the course with our style.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
