OKC Thunder Outlive Second Half Surge from Orlando to Secure Bounce Back Win

The OKC Thunder were in search of a comeback victory against the Orlando Magic after a poor outing in the NBA Cup final, which they found on the road just two days later. Oklahoma City won 105-99, thanks to a massive first-half lead and elite performance on both sides of the ball. Orlando wouldn't go down without a fight, but the Thunder played a strong enough second half to win, but it wasn't easy.

After the worst shooting game of his season so far, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came out of the gates on fire. He scored 24 points on 10-for-11 shooting, surpassing his total scoring output from the Milwaukee defeat quickly. He was the driving force in a hot first half that saw OKC ahead 65-46 by its end.

Oklahoma City is still struggling from the perimeter. The Thunder shot 10-for-31 from three in this one, and its best players did not make the shots they needed to. Gilgeous-Alexander shot 1-for-5 from the perimeter, guard Lu Dort 0-for-4 and Isaiah Joe 1-for-3. On the flip side, OKC forced 18 turnovers, an improvement on its prior defeat.

Orlando's injuries were one of its issues all night. It entered the game with arguably its two best players, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, banged up, with guard Jalen Suggs aggravating an ankle injury in the second quarter. He attempted to give it another try but was pulled shortly after. Despite the injuries, Orlando would pose a losing threat to Oklahoma City.

This matchup ended up as a tale of two halves. After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Thunder pulled away in the second. Gilgeous-Alexander scored at will around the rim and in the mid-range with complementary buckets from all of his teammates. It appeared as if Oklahoma City had a runaway victory on its hands after an impressive performance in the opening stage of the game.

It wasn't going to be that easy. After scoring only two field goals in the opening six minutes of the quarter, one from Gilgeous-Alexander and one from center Isaiah Hartenstein, Orlando center Goga Bitadze and guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Anthony Black would lead an impressive Magic run. Rookie forward Tristan Da Silva also helped with the flurry of scoring that allowed Orlando to get within ten points. Oklahoma City still held an 82-74 lead at the third quarter's end, but there was still work to do instead of coasting to a blowout.

Despite a quieter second half, Gilgeous-Alexander still had a more efficient and impactful game. He finished with 35 on the night on 15-for-26 shooting, adding six assists, four rebounds and four steals.

Black filled in for Suggs in his injury absence during the second half and did an excellent job. He finished with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting, adding three assists, giving Orlando as good a chance as any to win. Black was relentless around the rim and getting to the free-throw line and OKC's defense had no answer for him. Without his contribution off the bench, Orlando's deficit would have been much larger.

A small scoring boost the entire night for the Thunder came from defensive-minded guard Alex Caruso. He finished with 11 points, going 3-for-7 from the perimeter. He's struggled to score so far this season, so the slight perimeter burst was welcome. Caruso also did his normal damage on defense, which is always helpful.

Black kept his foot on the gas to start the fourth quarter, scoring the first nine for Orlando. Jalen Williams finally woke up for the Thunder, scoring six in the final period. It wasn't pretty, but Oklahoma City maintained a manageable lead in the middle part of the fourth to fend off Orlando.

With around five minutes to play, Gilgeous-Alexander found his comfortable fadeaway jumper and quickly got the ball back, following it with a lob to guard Aaron Wiggins. That added with a string of physical defensive possessions put the Thunder up 100-86 over Orlando and effectively buried them.

Oklahoma City is staying in Florida, taking on the Miami Heat on Friday, Dec. 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

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