THUNDER WIRE Pressing Jalen Suggs, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cleanly poked the ball out of his possession. Initially called a foul, a coach’s challenge flipped it to a game-sealing turnover. On top of a 40-burger, the reigning MVP flexed his two-way abilities in another close one.

The Oklahoma City Thunder survived another thriller in a 113-108 win over the Orlando Magic. They’ve won nine in a row and have gotten hot at the right time. They became the first team to punch their ticket for the 2026 NBA playoffs.

“I thought we were good on them tonight for the most part. We had some cracks in the game, but overall played with great intention. Executed well, made them earn everything,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “They shot a lot of jump shots. I think a lot of those were over a hand. So, it’s a good defensive effort and certainly tightened the screws on that when we really needed it. Especially the middle to the end of the third.”

To start things, both teams were stuck in the mud on offense. Gilgeous-Alexander eventually got his squad out of it. The Thunder had a 26-22 lead after the first quarter. Leaning into an all-offense lineup, OKC blitzed Orlando on the scoreboard with a 19-5 run to open the second frame.

Isaiah Hartenstein had his fun with the spacing he had. Isaiah Joe and Jared McCain completely opened the floor for their teammates. Like drinking a Dutch Bro’s 911 drink, it was quite the adrenaline rush that saw the Thunder open up a 45-27 lead with a little over six minutes left in the second frame.

The good vibes quickly melted away, though. Before halftime even arrived. The Magic finished the first half on a 23-6 run. That kinda canceled out all of the goodwill the Thunder built up. The latter had 25 points in the second quarter. They entered halftime with a slight 51-50 lead. Pretty frustrating to only be up by one — all things considered.

The break didn’t help the Thunder. Paolo Banchero took over the game. He looked like the bonafide 2022 No. 1 pick. He bullied his way to the basket and went with the spin layup to put OKC in a 67-62 deficit just five minutes into the second half. Just some bad basketball.

At that point, Gilgeous-Alexander had enough. He wouldn’t allow the Thunder to fall behind by more. It was his turn to take over as he scored a season-high 19 points in the third frame. They had 34 points in the quarter to salvage a slow start. That put them ahead 85-79 with a dozen minutes to go.

The start of the fourth quarter was pretty bad for the Thunder. They were on the wrong side of an 11-4 run. Desmond Bane knocked down an outside jumper to put OKC in a 90-89 hole with eight minutes to go. Such are the swings of a back-and-forth affair. After a timeout, they scored eight consecutive points to settle down.

Standing on the ‘Kia Center’ logo, Isaiah Joe swished in a deep outside jumper. Suddenly, the Thunder had a 97-90 lead with six minutes left. Talk about a response. Good job by OKC’s bench lineup to give Gilgeous-Alexander some wiggle room to close things out.

Getting a one-onone look with Banchero, Gilgeous-Alexander went with his signature stepback 3-pointer. He then swished in a pair of free-throw attempts. Alex Caruso came up huge with a steal-and-score sequence. Before the Magic could even register what happened, the Thunder had a 106-96 lead with a little over two minutes left.

The Thunder kept their distance the rest of the way. Gilgeous-Alexander crossed the 40-point mark. They had 28 points in the final frame to come away with the wild, rollercoaster win. An 18-point lead was quickly erased, but OKC made sure it didn’t turn consequential.

“I don’t think that was his best game. But I thought when we really needed it, when we needed to kinda stave off their run in the third and certainly closing, that’s when he was at his best tonight,” Daigneault said about Gilgeous-Alexander. “Which speaks to his ability to stay confident on a night that he doesn’t have his 100-mile-an-hour fastball.”

The Thunder shot 44% from the field 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 players scored double-digit points. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 40 points and five rebounds. Chet Holmgren had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Ajay Mitchell finished with 16 points and three assists.

Meanwhile, the Magic shot 40% from the field 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 players scored double-digit points.

Banchero led the way with 32 points and 10 rebounds. Bane had 16 points and three rebounds. Jalen Suggs tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Tristan da Silva had 13 points and four rebounds. Wendell Carter Jr. and Jevon Carter each scored 11 points apiece.

All the Thunder do now is play competitive games. Gilgeous-Alexander carried his squad across the finish line. They had the chance to put this away in the first half but instead allowed the Magic to get into a rhythm. Not the best game script, but you can’t complain too much about a road win over one of the league’s hottest teams in recent weeks.

The Thunder continue to be on a roll. Gilgeous-Alexander is putting the final touches on his probable back-to-back MVP awards. When everybody else had an off-night, he read the room and put on his Superman cape to help OKC keep up in the first-seed race. Orlando had its chances but couldn’t see Banchero keep up in a battle of NBA superstars.

“We’re proud of that. It’s not easy. When we won the championship last year, I think that can warp the way you look at other things, like clinching a playoff spot. Or division titles. Or things that are not obviously as significant as a championship but are very difficult to do nonetheless,” Daigneault said. “We’re proud of the accomplishment. Something we don’t take for granted. The opportunity to compete in this postseason is a privilege that we don’t take lightly and feel entitled to.”

Next up for the Thunder is an away game at Brooklyn against the Nets on Saturday.

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