Jalen Williams scored 23 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder stay unbeaten with a 102-86 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday night in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder improved to 7-0, marking their best start since they moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. Cleveland (8-0) is the only other team still undefeated. Oklahoma City’s seven wins have been by an average margin of 17.4 points, with none of them closer than 12 points.
The Magic, on the other hand, have now lost four straight games and five of their last six.
Oklahoma City led from the beginning, and Orlando never got within 10 points after the first quarter. The Magic did make a push in the second half, scoring seven straight points to close the gap to 64-53 in the third quarter.
But the Thunder quickly regained control, finishing the third quarter with a 20-5 run that pretty much sealed the game. During this stretch, Isaiah Joe hit three consecutive 3-pointers in just over a minute, all assisted by Alex Caruso, giving Oklahoma City an 82-58 lead with just over a minute left in the third.
The Thunder came out strong, scoring on their first possession and building their lead steadily throughout the first quarter.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t take his first shot until almost nine minutes into the game but still made a big impact with seven assists in the first quarter, which was a career high for him in a single quarter.
His assists went to six different teammates, leading to four 3-pointers. Williams benefited from two of Gilgeous-Alexander’s passes, scoring 14 points in the first quarter, which ended with Oklahoma City leading 39-17.
The Thunder’s offense slowed in the second quarter, scoring only 19 points, but Orlando couldn’t capitalize, managing just 17 points in the period.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 21 points and nine assists, while Chet Holmgren added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Franz Wagner led Orlando with 22 points, and Jalen Suggs added 19.
The Magic struggled with their shooting, making just 35.4 percent of their attempts from the field and only 5-of-34 (14.7 percent) from three-point range.
Goga Bitadze, who missed the last five games due to a left foot injury, returned to the starting lineup for Orlando and scored 11 points with nine rebounds in 27 minutes. Wendell Carter was out for the Magic due to a plantar fascia strain in his left foot, which he suffered during Sunday’s loss to Dallas.
