NBA: Thunder snap 10-game skid, beat Magic
Tre Mann #23 of the Oklahoma City Thunder plays the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on March 02, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP
Theo Maledon scored 17 of his season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-102 home win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
The result snapped a 10-game losing streak and an 11-game home losing streak for the Thunder, who hadn’t won in Oklahoma City since Jan. 31.
You a bucket bro 🍽@tre2mann3 | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/8DDENojMw7
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 24, 2022
Oklahoma City (21-52) moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Magic (20-54) in the overall standings. The bottom three teams have the best odds of getting the top overall pick in this summer’s draft, and only the Houston Rockets have a worse record than Orlando.
Tre Mann and Isaiah Roby added 21 points each for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City’s Vit Krejci tied a career-high with 12 points and set a personal best with 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. He helped the Thunder’s bench double up Orlando’s reserves, 52-26.
Chuma Okeke scored 19 points while Cole Anthony added 17 for the Magic, whose two-game winning streak ended.
The Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was sidelined for the second time in three games — both against the Magic — due to right ankle soreness.
Orlando was without Wendell Carter Jr. (wrist, ankle). Carter scored a career-high 30 against Oklahoma City in the Magic’s 90-85 win on Sunday.
The Magic jumped ahead quickly in this one, leading by 11 less than four minutes into the game and by as many as 13 late in the first before going cold from the field.
Orlando went more than seven minutes without a field goal, missing 14 consecutive shots including its first 11 of the second quarter. The Thunder went on a 25-2 run during that span to take the lead for the first time.
Early in the second half, the Magic went on a 12-2 run as Oklahoma City missed seven consecutive shots.
Mo Bamba’s 3-pointer midway through the third quarter tied the game for the first time since early in the second.
But Aaron Wiggins quickly answered with a 3-pointer of his own to ignite an 18-8 Thunder run to put them ahead by 10 going into the fourth.
