The Orlando Magic gained their seventh loss of the season Tuesday night after a close battle with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The ability to win this game was there for Orlando. They found themselves up 104-93 in the fourth quarter and ended up getting out-scored 23-4 to finish out the game and lose 116-108.
Turnovers Hurt Magic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Explodes for Big Game
The Magic averaged right around 12 turnovers a game up until this one. They had 25 Tuesday night including eight in the first quarter alone.
Head coach Jamahl Mosley on the turnover bug Orlando had: “25 turnovers to 30 points doesn’t give you an opportunity to settle yourself down and get the same execution you had in the first half.”
The turnovers were a huge factor in the lapses of rhythm the Magic had throughout the game. It also kept them from keeping any form of chemistry they had.
There were great nights all around for multiple Thunder players including a career night for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He finished with 34 points on an insane 12/18 (66%) shooting. He also had 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Aleksej Pokusevski had his best night of the season. He finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks. He played 31 minutes to combat the Magic’s length and did so exceptionally limiting players like Paolo Banchero and Chuma Okeke to just 15 and 6 points respectively.
Tre Mann and Lu Dort both had exceptional nights as well with 13 and 14 points respectively. Dort also had a three-pointer with 51 seconds left to push the lead to six and to essentially seal the win for OKC.
Wendell Carter Jr. and Franz Wagner have Big Nights
Two Magic stars had games. Carter Jr. finished with 30 points and 12 rebounds and was a very good 10-15 (66%) from the field. His presence was consistent from the start and it was good for Orlando to have their true center in peak form offensively.
Carter on the team’s offense at this point in the season: “It can be anybody’s night. We have so many offensively talented players.”
Franz Wagner has had a shaky start to his sophomore season and did well in this game with 20 points and 7 assists. However, his shooting percentage was a little bit down at 44% (8-18). His three point shot has not quite caught fire this season yet either as his percentage is sitting at 19%. His turnovers are also a little bit more up this season from last year at 2.9 a game. It will be key for the Magic to get their 2021 top ten pick to get his game going as the season goes on.
Up Next
The Magic are now 1-7 and last in the eastern conference following this loss to the Thunder. Their next game will be their third home game in the Amway Center against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. E.T.