Krejci, Maledon lead OKC guards without Gilgeous-Alexander

The streak is over.

For draft position the win to stop the 10 game Oklahoma City losing streak was a negative, but nonetheless the Thunder defeated the Magic 118-102 on Thursday.

Without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the Thunder were at a disadvantage before tip-off, but that didn’t matter.

Here are the top performers of the game.

Theo Maledon

Theo Maledon, isn’t typically the go to scorer for coach Mark Daugneualt and the Thunder, but Wednesday against Orlando, OKC needed to find offense from a different source. With Gilgeous-Alexander out of the lineup, the Thunder’s young guard stepped up to the challenge.

Coming off of the bench and playing 32 minutes, Maledon scored a game-high 25 points. Maledon’s scoring came on a night where he shot efficiently and often, knocking down 9-of-13 attempts, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. His nine made field goals was one off of his career high.

Maledon’s presence wasn’t just felt in his scoring, but he facilitated other offense, also adding six assists to his stat line. Maledon also boasted a plus/minus of plus-33.

Isaiah Roby

Isaiah Roby has shown flashes of what he could be for the Thunder’s future, especially with his scoring. His offense comes in bunches, and when he’s hot, he’ll light up the point column. Wednesday was one of those nights.

Roby knocked down five of his 12 shot attempts and scored 21 points, tied for the most in the OKC starting lineup. Roby scored nine of his points from the 3-point line shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Roby, acting as the Thunder center, grabbed seven rebounds on the night including three of the Thunder’s five offensive rebounds.

Roby’s performance came after he scored zero points and missed all six shot attempts against Boston on Monday.

Vit Krejci

Another Thunder guard who saw an increased role in the absence of Gilgeous-Alexander made the most of his minutes. Vit Krejci played 27 minutes while coming off the bench.

Krejci shot 4-for-6 from the field, with all of those attempts and points from 3-point range. His 12 points, however, wasn’t the biggest impact he made for OKC.

Krejci added 11 rebounds, a game-high, all on the defensive end. Despite OKC getting out-rebounded 45-44, Krejci’s strong game on the glass was crucial for OKC winning the game and snapping their losing skid.

Krejci’s 12 points and 11 rebounds led to his first career double-double.

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