Two days after losing in the final of the “NBA Cup” in Las Vegas, the players of Thunder are going back to coal, to Florida to face the Magicmore than serious at home but more than diminished as well.
This was seen and Oklahoma Citycarried mainly by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (35 points, 6 assists, 4 interceptions), did not fail to offer Anthony Black (23 points) and Orlandoto move forward and win for the sixth time in a row (because the “NBA Cup” final does not count in the regular season results).
“Show” Gilgeous-Alexander
After a balanced first quarter (29-28), which saw the Thunder rely on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Magic rely on their rebounding activity to compensate for their ball losses, the first gap was created under the The impetus of Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell, who push their opponents into mistakes on each side.
“SGA” then comes back into play and he continues to turn the heads of the Florida defenders, between his delicious “footwork”, his mastery of absorbing contacts and his finishes in the paint. Without pity, OKC logically takes off with the score (65-46).
Returning from the locker room, Orlando finally thwarts Oklahoma City, which goes more than six minutes without scoring a single point. The Goga Bitadze – Wendell Carter Jr. pairing does a good job and the gap is gradually reduced to… 17-0. Fortunately, Alex Caruso and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are still there to plug the gaps in the urgency and difficulty (82-74).
Always more threatened by Anthony Black and others, OKC can finally count on the awakening of Jalen Williams who launches the 12-1 which changes everything. Because, despite good resistance from the Magic until the last seconds, the Thunder tightened the screw, with energy, and they managed to hold on until the end, in order to return to victory (105-99).
TO REMEMBER
– Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the way. Disappointing in the final of the “NBA Cup”, the Canadian made up for it by playing with disconcerting ease with the Magic defense. Nothing was given to the Thunder, who were struggling with rebounding, but took advantage of the opponent's turnovers to score easy points in transition. “SGA” has also abused it. Master of the paint, he excelled in the first half (24 points) to launch his team perfectly. Before playing the firefighters on duty, with Alex Caruso, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein and Aaron Wiggins, when things were less good in the second half.
– Alert for Jalen Suggs. Hit in the ankle at the end of the first half, the Magic leader gave a big scare to his audience and his coach, who decided to almost not use him in the second half, even though he was available . But, with the injuries to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, we obviously do not want to see him risk his health for a simple regular season match. Result: barely 17 minutes for him.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
