Thunder Bounced by Magic, Losing Streak to Nine

There were some ping-pong balls at stake Sunday evening.

With the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Orlando Magic amidst rebuilds, both teams have neared the bottom of the standings, finding themselves locked in a lottery-implication grudge match.

In the evening, the Thunder added to their ping-pong stash, falling to the Magic 90-83. With the result, Mark Daigneault’s group now sits on a nine-game losing streak.

The Thunder (20-51) fall one game back from the second-best lottery odds, currently held by the Orlando Magic (19-53.)

Playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder rallied around Darius Bazley to source 10 of the team’s first 19 points en route to a 19-14 lead. Orlando struggled mightily in the frame, however, a closing 12-0 run fetched them a 31-25 edge.

The second frame was sloppy on both ends as there were as many turnovers (12) as there were made field goals in the segment, with Oklahoma City canning seven shots. Off the slight edge, the Thunder took the 12 minutes 18-14, trailing 45-43 at the half.

A combined 29 points were converted off of turnovers Sunday.

Offensive woes were purveyed for both sides in the third frame. However, the Thunder struck late as Vit Krejci and Theo Maledon marked all nine points in a 9-1 closing statement, surging Oklahoma City up 64-62.

Krejci and Maledon finished the night with 10 and eight points, respectively.

A successfully challenged Isaiah Roby blocking foul proved to be pivotal for Oklahoma City, in the mid-portion of the fourth, as a 80-76 deficit was wiped with a 5-0 Thunder run. This run went awry, as Orlando closed the night on a 10-3 streak.

Perimeter play was absent in the Amway as the Thunder and Magic shot 27.1% and 22.3% respectively from range.

Orlando entrusted Wendell Carter Jr. with the heavy load Sunday placing a career-high 30 points and 16 rebounds. But, the supporting cast had been minimal, placing just two other double-digit scorers.

Cole Anthony grazed a mere six points for the Magic.

Oklahoma City shot at subpar levels for the majority of the night, failing to eclipse the 40-percent mark on the floor. Though, they placed a valiant effort on the defensive end, forcing 21 Magic turnovers.

Darius Bazley simmered down significantly after his big first quarter, ending the night with 28 minutes on the game. In his run, the forward logged another uber-efficient stretch tallying 18 points on a 6-of-11 shooting clip.

Lindy Waters III sourced some much-needed work from deep. In the evening, the former Cowboy placed 12 points and six rebounds on a 4-of-6 effort on threes.

Surrounded by fellow friends and family, Tre Mann put on a show in his home state with 13 points. Mann, a former Florida Gator, piggybacked off of Friday’s performance with a pair of stepback conversions.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will have the chance to cut their streak tomorrow versus the Boston Celtics.

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