Thunder Losing Streak Hits Nine as OKC Falls to Magic
Wendell Carter Jr. scored 10 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and the Orlando Magic handed the Oklahoma City Thunder their ninth straight loss with a 90-85 victory Sunday night.
Carter also had 16 rebounds to help the Magic end a three-game losing streak.
Darius Bazley led Oklahoma City with 18 points. The Thunder shot 32.6% and were 13 of 48 from 3-point range.
The Thunder, the NBA's lowest-scoring team (103.1 points per game) and poorest shooting team at 42.6%, were playing without their top three scorers, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who injured his ankle Friday night at Miami.
After 10 quick points by Bazley and a couple of 3-pointers by Tre Mann, the Thunder had a 25-17 lead before going scoreless for the final 3:20 of the first quarter. Orlando scored the final 14 points of the quarter and led 45-43 at halftime.
Three-pointers by Theo Maledon and Vit Krejci helped Oklahoma City close the third quarter with a 9-1 spurt , and the Thunder moved ahead by seven points before going on another scoreless stretch of more than four minutes.
Two free throws by Isaiah Robey with 2:46 left gave the Thunder their last lead, but Franz Wagner and Carter scored on offensive rebounds to put Orlando back ahead.
OKC squares off with the Celtics Monday night inside the Paycom Center.