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0 The Oklahoma City Thunder won 127-113 against the Orlando Magic in their final game before the All-Star break. Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team to victory, scoring 33 and 32 points respectively. Despite an early 11-point lead from Orlando, the Thunder rallied back, with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 13 points in a five-minute stretch of the third quarter, leading the team to a commanding lead. Chet Holmgren contributed 13 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks for the Thunder. Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 23 points and 10 assists, while Wendell Carter Jr. had 22 points and seven rebounds.
Williams credited the team’s physicality and ability to compete, saying, “once we got our physicality back into the game, I thought we did a good job of course correcting and playing with a lead.” Gilgeous-Alexander got going in the second half, scoring six of the Thunder’s first seven field goals, and when Holmgren hit a 3-pointer with 6:10 left in the third quarter, Oklahoma City led 80-63.
The Magic played better defense on Gilgeous-Alexander in the first half, but he got himself going in the second half, leading the Thunder to a win. The Magic made only seven of 29 3-point shots after building their early lead.
The game was played on the night that the Magic retired Shaquille O’Neal’s No. 32, who played his first four NBA seasons in Orlando. Banchero noted that the celebration for O’Neal created a playoff-type atmosphere and expressed his hope that it becomes the new norm for the organization.
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