March 17, 2026, 10:16 p.m. CT
Pressing Jalen Suggs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cleanly poked the ball out of his possession. Initially known as a foul, a coach’s problem flipped it to a game-sealing turnover. On prime of a 40-burger, the reigning MVP flexed his two-way talents in one other shut one.
The Oklahoma City Thunder survived one other thriller in a 113-108 win over the Orlando Magic. They’ve received 9 in a row and have gotten sizzling on the proper time. They turned the primary crew to punch their ticket for the NBA playoffs.
To begin issues, each groups had been within the mud on offense. Gilgeous-Alexander finally obtained his squad out of it. The Thunder had a 26-22 lead after the primary quarter. Leaning into an all-offense lineup, OKC blitzed Orlando on the scoreboard with a 19-5 run to open the second body.
Isaiah Hartenstein had his enjoyable with the spacing he had. Isaiah Joe and Jared McCain fully opened the ground for his or her teammates. Like ingesting a Dutch Bro’s 911 drink, it was fairly the adrenaline rush that noticed the Thunder open up a 45-27 lead with slightly over six minutes left within the second body.
The good vibes shortly melted away, although. Before halftime even arrived. The Magic completed the primary half on a 23-6 run. That kinda canceled out all the goodwill the Thunder constructed up. The latter had 25 points within the second quarter. They entered halftime with a slight 51-50 lead. Pretty irritating, all issues thought of.
The break did not assist the Thunder. Paolo Banchero took over the sport. He regarded just like the bonafide 2022 No. 1 decide. He bullied his approach to the basket and went with the spin layup to put OKC in a 67-62 deficit simply 5 minutes into the second half. Just some dangerous basketball.
At that time, Gilgeous-Alexander had sufficient. He would not enable the Thunder to fall behind by extra. It was his flip to take over as he scored a season-high 19 points within the third body. They had 34 points within the quarter to salvage a gradual begin. That put them forward 85-79 with a dozen minutes to go.
The begin of the fourth quarter was fairly dangerous for the Thunder. They had been on the mistaken facet of an 11-4 run. Desmond Bane knocked down an outdoor jumper to put OKC in a 90-89 gap with eight minutes to go. After a timeout, they scored eight consecutive points.
Standing on the ‘Kia Center’ emblem, Isaiah Joe swished in a deep exterior jumper. Suddenly, the Thunder had a 97-90 lead with six minutes left. Talk a couple of response. Good job by OKC’s bench lineup to give Gilgeous-Alexander some wiggle room to shut issues out.
Getting a one-on-one look with Banchero, Gilgeous-Alexander went along with his signature stepback 3-pointer. He then swished in a pair of free-throw makes an attempt. Alex Caruso got here up large with a steal-and-score sequence. Before the Magic may even register what occurred, the Thunder had a 106-96 lead with slightly over two minutes left.
The Thunder stored their distance the remainder of the best way. Gilgeous-Alexander crossed the 40-point mark. They had 28 points within the ultimate body to come away with the wild, rollercoaster win.
The Thunder shot 44% from the sector and went 9-of-29 (31%) from 3. They shot 24-of-27 on free throws. They had 19 assists on 40 baskets. Three Thunder gamers scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the best way with 40 points and 5 rebounds. Chet Holmgren had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Ajay Mitchell completed with 16 points and three assists.
Meanwhile, the Magic shot 40% from the sector and went 17-of-50 (34%) from 3. They shot 17-of-20 on free throws. They had 21 assists on 37 baskets. Six Magic gamers scored double-digit points.
Banchero led the best way with 32 points and 10 rebounds. Bane had 16 points and three rebounds. Jalen Suggs tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and 6 assists. Tristan da Silva had 13 points and 4 rebounds. Wendell Carter Jr. and Jevon Carter every scored 11 points apiece.
All the Thunder do now could be play aggressive video games. Gilgeous-Alexander carried his squad throughout the end line. They had the prospect to put this away within the first half, however as a substitute allowed the Magic to get right into a rhythm. Not one of the best recreation script, however you possibly can’t complain an excessive amount of a couple of street win over one of many league’s hottest groups in latest weeks.
The Thunder proceed to be on a roll. Gilgeous-Alexander is placing the ultimate touches on his possible back-to-back MVP awards. When everyone else had an off-night, he learn the room and placed on his Superman cape to assist OKC sustain within the first-seed race. Orlando had its possibilities however could not see Banchero sustain in a battle of NBA superstars.
Let’s take a look at Thunder participant grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Staring down Banchero, Gilgeous-Alexander put him on an island. He bumped him away from a driving lane. Bad choice. The reigning MVP recalculated. He went along with his signature stepback 3-pointer that drilled in. With three minutes to go, the skin jumper obtained him into nearer mode.
Gilgeous-Alexander completed with 40 points on 14-of-27 taking pictures, 5 rebounds and two assists. He shot 3-of-5 from 3 and went 9-of-11 on free throws. He additionally had 4 steals.
At this level, the true query is by what number of votes Gilgeous-Alexander wins MVP by. And if he can turn out to be the second unanimous winner ever. Another 40-point explosion ought to absolutely assist his case to make extra NBA historical past with that ambition. After trolling within the first half, the 27-year-old locked in to guarantee OKC retains its profitable methods.
Gilgeous-Alexander solely had 12 points on 12 shot makes an attempt within the first half. Not the kind of excellent effectivity we’re used to seeing from him. After his teammates opened up an 18-point lead, the Magic had been in a position to get again into it thanks to his disastrous begin.
Entering halftime with a one-point lead, Gilgeous-Alexander owed OKC some buckets. He lived up to his finish of the discount within the second half. He had 19 points within the third quarter alone. The 30-point scorer was as surgical as ever. He sliced by means of Orlando’s protection on the best way to the rim. When that did not occur, he pulled up from the mid-range at his favourite spots.
Gilgeous-Alexander even knocked down a few exterior jumpers. He snatched the Magic’s chain as they grew extra assured. The reigning MVP refused to be liable for dropping this gimme recreation. In the fourth quarter, he added to his particular outing with 9 points. He put this one away at each degree of the ground — from the perimeter to the free-throw line.
A 28-point second half salvaged this for Gilgeous-Alexander. He was again to being a strolling 30 points. The reigning MVP did it within the mid-range and across the rim. When these pictures did not fall, he went to the free-throw line and stored Orlando sincere from past the arc. Just a classic efficiency by one of many biggest scorers ever.
This is simply what MVPs do. Gilgeous-Alexander rewrote the destiny of this recreation because it felt just like the Thunder had been on the cusp of a irritating loss. Instead, he demanded the ball and put the Magic away. It’s been a wild couple of weeks. The 27-year-old has slammed the door and locked it up for the MVP race.
Chet Holmgren: A
Leaking out forward, Holmgren caught Gilgeous-Alexander’s four-vertical cross. He leaned into da Silva’s sincere contest to draw the and-one layup. Putting the Thunder forward by double-digit points with 15 seconds left, the 23-year-old penned the ultimate phrases.
Holmgren completed with 20 points on 8-of-14 taking pictures, 12 rebounds and one help. He shot 0-of-2 from 3 and went 4-of-5 on free throws. He additionally had one block.
Running with the movement, Holmgren was served loads of his buckets. You take these simple seems to be as he was gifted a number of simple dunks and slicing layups. The seven-footer was one of many beneficiaries of OKC’s space-out lineup that featured guys like Joe and McCain. He had 12 points within the first half.
Always love to see Holmgren be aggressive as a scorer. He was second in shot makes an attempt. Which must be the case on most nights — at the very least so long as Jalen Williams is out. None felt compelled, both. This is one of the best model of the 23-year-old as a scorer.
Elsewhere, Holmgren helped on the boards. He’s actually upticked his manufacturing in that space. The Thunder badly wanted his dimension in opposition to a hefty Orlando frontcourt. The protection stays one-of-one. The Magic solely shot 47% contained in the paint. Bad numbers in context. Banchero tried his greatest, however no one else had scoring juice.
Despite not having the flashy box-score stats like Banchero, you noticed why the Thunder are completely proud of Holmgren. He won’t possess a dynamic one-on-one scoring recreation, however he is top-of-the-line in different areas of basketball. Especially anchoring the league-best protection.
Ajay Mitchell: B
Getting Bane, Mitchell bumped and bruised his approach to the rim. Despite the Orlando defender on his grill, he flung up an and-one floater that rainbowed in. The fourth-quarter bucket showcased the kind of particular shot-creation that has graduated him up the ladder.
Mitchell completed with 16 points on 5-of-12 taking pictures, three assists and two rebounds. He shot 1-of-3 from 3 and went 5-of-5 on free throws.
It was one other begin for Mitchell. That’s three in a row. The Thunder are giving him a crash course with a month to prepare for the NBA playoffs. So far, on this pattern dimension, you gotta love the outcomes. He’s performed easily alongside Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder have welcomed his capability to get his personal buckets.
Playing a brutal model of basketball, Mitchell fought by means of contact to get to the rim. The drive-heavy scorer flexed his finesse across the rim. Paired along with his motor, that is the right mixture to be a double-digit scorer at your lowest on most nights.
Mitchell had seven points within the fourth quarter. He helped run the second-unit offense alongside Hartenstein. The Magic could not cease him when he went downhill. A busy evening on the free-throw line exemplifies that. After being out for 2 months, the bucket-getter has modified how OKC has performed when Gilgeous-Alexander is off the ground.
Alex Caruso: B
Playing wolf after Carter Jr.’s display screen knocked Caruso off target, Banchero had the ball punched out of his pocket. The 32-year-old recorded the high-leverage steal as he was rewarded with a simple transition layup. The steal-and-score sequence compelled a timeout.
Caruso completed with two points on 1-of-3 taking pictures, eight rebounds and one help. He shot 0-of-1 from 3. He additionally had two steals.
Not the prettiest field rating, however a plus-19 in 24 minutes is all you want to see. Caruso was all over the place on the ground — in a great way. With the playoffs across the nook, he is began to ramp up and string collectively a few of his greatest video games. Playing a bunch of shut video games lately has solely helped him get the blood flowing.
You might say Caruso could be too amped up. In a possession that went viral, Caruso blew a tire. He had a shoe in his hand. Deciding on the fly, he swatted the ball away from da Silva’s drive try. While the shoe-on-ball cease was humorous and made the rounds on social media, the Magic position participant acquired the bucket and the two-time NBA champion was handed a comedic technical foul.
Guess all of us be taught one thing new — even for those who’ve been within the league for some time. Funny second apart, Caruso helped the Thunder get one other shut win. When push comes to shove, they’ve had the bench participant be a part of OKC’s closing lineup. This was the newest instance.
