Magic Vs. Thunder Final Score: Dwight Howard Leads Orlando To 111-88 Win

The Oklahoma City Thunder, playing with a depleted bench, didn’t have the horses to hang with the Orlando Magic, sputtering down the stretch in a 111-88 loss. Kevin Durant did all he could for the Thunder, finishing with 23 points and 16 rebounds, but got little help from the bench as Dwight Howard took over for the Magic in the paint. Howard finished with a double-double himself, scoring 40 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.

The Magic used a strong fourth quarter run, outscoring Oklahoma City 31-18, to turn a 10-point lead after three into an easy 23 point win. Without new acquisitions Nate Robinson and Kendrick Perkins, still sitting out after Thursday’s trade, it was all about Durant and Russell Westbrook, with the rest of the Oklahoma City starters combining for just 13 points.

Westbrook finished with 18 points and three assists, with James Harden and Daequan Cook adding 16 and 15 points off the bench respectively. Eric Maynor had a team-high seven assists off the bench, as well. Nick Collison had eight points and Serge Ibaka had five.

Howard was joined in double-figures by Jason Richardson (17 points) and Jameer Nelson (14 points). J.J. Redick added 16 points off the bench in the win. Hedo Turkoglu had a team-high 10 assists, but only scored seven points on the night.

Orlando improved to 37-22 with the win and sit six games behind the Miami Heat in the Southeast division. Oklahoma City fell to 36-21 with the loss, but still hold a three-game lead over the Denver Nuggets in the Northwest division.