The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to add momentum as they were able to collect their fourth win in a row against a young and big Orlando Magic squad, 116-108.
The story of the game was once again Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as the 24-year-old added another 30-point performance to his resume this season. In this game, he finished with 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting, six assists and four rebounds. He also shot 10-of-11 from the free-throw line.
For the Magic, No.1 pick Paolo Banchero finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Wendell Carter Jr. led the way with 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 12 rebounds. Franz Wagner finished with 20 points but it came on 8-of-18 shooting.
The Magic had an unusually tall starting lineup and were able to benefit from it with a 13-rebound advantage. The shortest Magic starter was Terrance Ross at 6-foot-6 while the tallest Thunder starter was Jeremiah Robinson-Earl at 6-foot-9.
Despite the height disadvantage, the Thunder were surprisingly able to win the battle for points in the paint by 20 as they scored 50 points inside while the Magic scored just 30 points.
Let’s take a look at four Thunder player grades from this win.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
As has been the case for about every single one of his games this season, Gilgeous-Alexander easily gets an A-plus.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points on an efficient 12-of-18 from the field and shot a nearly-perfect 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. Since his time with the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander has been one of the most efficient scoring guards in the league and that has been amplified to a new level this season.
Near the end of the game, Gilgeous-Alexander received MVP chants from the home crowd and it’s hard to consider him in the conversation during the infancy stages of the NBA season.
Clawing our way back!@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/McY3BItuu6
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 2, 2022
SGA with the reliable jumper 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YE2EloCdGH
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 2, 2022
Josh Giddey: C
It was an odd game for Josh Giddey as he made his three-game absence return from an ankle sprain.
Giddey played in 25 minutes and finished with seven points on 3-of-12 shooting but was able to rack up 10 assists.
The biggest story surrounding Giddy was his unusual minutes distribution. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault decided not to start Giddey to begin the second half and sit him for the final eight minutes of the game.
When asked about the curious rotation, Daigneault said that it was to try to get more balance with his units and trying to get Giddey back into rhythm.
Giddey also did not start the second half — an unconventional move Daigneault previously made with Gilgeous-Alexander earlier this season due to foul trouble.
“I was trying to get more balance in the units. It’s gonna be different guys on different nights,” said Daigneault. “He’s getting back into rhythm his first game back.”
Giddey got there QUICK 💨 pic.twitter.com/fWrQb8nMRJ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 2, 2022
Giddey dime ➡️ tough JRE finish pic.twitter.com/aLmuAoCGY8
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) November 2, 2022
Aleksej Pokusevski: A
This was one of Aleksej Pokusevski’s better games of the season and his performance earned him the right to close the game out for the Thunder.
In 31 minutes, Pokusevski finished with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting, nine rebounds, three blocks and was a plus-22.
There were multiple instances where the crowd was ready to explode if Pokusevski was able to finish a play and he was able to finally provide that with a corner three he swished in to give the Thunder the lead with four minutes left to go.
“He’s gotten a lot better. I think he’s finding his role in the NBA,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.
Despite coming off the bench, Pokusevski played the third-most minutes on the team and continues to give Daigneault reasons to trust him with huge minute loads.
Tre Mann: B
It felt like eventually, Tre Mann’s talent will catch up with his statistics.
Despite having an aesthetically pleasing game where it feels like Mann should be scoring more points and shooting the ball better than he’s actually had, the shooting splits have not been kind for the second-year guard so far this season.
Tuesday made that one step closer to being a reality as Mann scored 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, five rebounds and three assists.
