Out of all the games in the NBA, that was certainly one of them. In a game that featured two of the four worst teams in the league in terms of standings, the Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the Orlando Magic, 90-85.
Both teams struggled to generate any type of offense as the fourth quarter began with a score in the low 60s. The Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he deals with right ankle soreness while the Magic continue to be the Magic.
Wendell Carter Jr. helped led the Magic to its 19th win of the season with a season-high 30 points and 16 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Thunder had arguably its worst offensive performance of the season — which says a lot for the worst offensive-rated team in the league. The Thunder shot just 32.6% from the field which included going 27.1% from three.
More importantly, the Thunder lose a crucial game to a team with a worse record than it. Due to its current nine-game losing streak, the Thunder are just a game back from top three lottery odds and just three games back for the worst record in the league. Considering how things looked just a month ago as the Thunder fought off other threats for top four lottery odds, it feels like the team has made a lot of progress in that area as it’s safe to say the team will have the fourth best lottery odds at worst come seasons end.
But yeah, this was an ugly and sloppy game between two of the worst teams in the league. What was expected is what happened with this game. Let’s take a look at player grades.
