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OKC Thunder rolls past Orlando Magic, heads into NBA All-Star break 20 games over .500
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- OKC Thunder rolls past Orlando Magic, heads into NBA All-Star break 20 games over .500
He had one last lullaby.
With a melatonin-inducing midrange jumper, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leaned toward the baseline before morphing into a rarely seen, villainous version of the otherwise monotone MVP candidate.
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His words were intentional.
As he retreated toward Oklahoma City 's huddle, he pointed behind him and made his demands clear.
"Go home," Gilgeous-Alexander barked repeatedly.
SGA (32 points, five assists) sent the Orlando Magic packing Tuesday in a 127-113 win , pushing the Thunder into the All-Star break on a two-game winning streak. But it was his teammates who held the door.
Through a half, Gilgeous-Alexander scored eight points on 3-for-11 shooting. Orlando's sophomore hound Jalen Suggs must've been offended that his name hadn't been stitched into SGA's jersey along with another hyphen. He attached himself there anyway. He slid nearly everywhere Gilgeous-Alexander went, loosening his handle and throwing off his touch.
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But OKC hardly needed SGA's grip on things. Even as he forced his way to the rim and attempted to barrel past a league wide top-five defense, it never slowed the surrounding corps.
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Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots over Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) during the second quarter Tuesday night in Orlando, Florida.
Even in a relatively low-usage quarter without many opportunities to create, Jalen Williams converted lobs and was where SGA needed him to be. Josh Giddey , notably being guarded tighter by Markelle Fultz than any defender in recent memory, was put in actions that attempted to keep Orlando's help defense from being so helpful. Lu Dort delivered timely baskets and maddening defense, while Chet Holmgren sealed off the rim.
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The Thunder missed Gilgeous-Alexander's overwhelming touch just enough to trail by 11 at one point. But not enough to keep OKC's offense from surging the way it did, stealing a lead in the first 20 seconds of the second quarter and never trailing again. It shot 54.8% from the floor and 40.6% from 3. It flipped an unsurprisingly lopsided rebound battle — often the Thunder's lone deficiency this season — on its head.
It matched Orlando's defensive intensity, containing its budding stars and even seeing Suggs cool off from his first-quarter inferno. All until the Thunder's balance could be restored.
A non-Shai game almost never remains that way.
If there's ever a game where Oklahoma City's All-Star doesn't deliver his daily 10 points in the first quarter, he tends to find his way back. In third quarters, in a game's waning moments. When OKC needs a response.
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On Tuesday, Gilgeous-Alexander rose from his slump to pop off for a 13-point stretch in which he shot 6 for 6 to open the second half. Williams, who flexed his muscles and the fruits of the 2022 NBA Draft en route to 33 points (12 for 18), delivered a fourth quarter that kept the Thunder from losing its rhythm.
A consistent hum that would lull anyone to sleep. Gilgeous-Alexander just ensured the bed was made.
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Perimeter sealed by Thunder defense
There reached a point when Paolo Banchero begrudgingly gave up the ball. He didn't have much choice.
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Lu Dort dug into the 6-foot-10 forward throughout the night. In the first quarter, Banchero was limited to three field goal attempts. He committed three turnovers. Dort even corralled a steal on a saved ball by Joe Ingles when an Orlando possession broke down.
His presence grew so infuriating, so troublesome that Banchero was forced to reset possessions. To be mindful of where he set up shop. To perfectly position himself in the post or with his footwork. He'd need every advantage to avoid being completely neutralized by Dort and the crowding defenses that backed him. By the time Banchero found his rhythm, the Thunder had long kept Orlando at bay.
Orlando's other star forward, Franz Wagner , was seemingly missing at times. That was mostly Jalen Williams' doing, who after enduring a shopping list of tough assignments in 2024 alone ( LeBron James , Kawhi Leonard , Lauri Markkanen , Karl Towns all come to mind), is quickly becoming one of the league's better two-way wings.
Tuesday's work? Holding Wagner to 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting (1 for 5 from deep) and two turnovers.
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Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault talks with Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) in between play against the Orlando Magic during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)
OKC's All-Star weekend standing
Youth itself is a tool. Weaponized as a threat for the future, honed and crafted to create that vision.
It's all the more frightening when that youth is capable of what OKC has accomplished so early on this season.
After Tuesday's win, the Thunder enters the All-Star break 20 or more games above .500 (37-17) for the fifth time in Oklahoma City history.
It's three games from reaching 40 wins, the Thunder's win total from a season ago. Its young duo of Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams became the first pair of teammates under 25 to each drop 30 in consecutive games since Boston 's Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in 2022.
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The Thunder is a mind-bogglingly boyish squad with as secure an identity as nearly every team in the NBA. The leap it's made from a year ago would speak to that.
So what about youth? About the ceiling it might bring as OKC hopes to build on its status past the break? Will it be what bursts the Thunder's bubble?
"I guess we'll have to see, huh?" Williams told TNT's Dennis Scott.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder beats Orlando Magic for 37-17 record at NBA All-Star break
