Oklahoma City Thunder jump out early, cruise to easy 127-99 victory over Orlando Magic

After falling to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, the Orlando Magic finished up their brief three game home stand with a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma City was not going to be denied, cruising to a monster 127-99 victory.

Kicking the game off, Orlando struggled, falling behind 13-0 seemingly before one could blink. The Magic tried to fight and claw their way back into the game, but were only able to get it to 17-8 before the Thunder jumped right back on them. The Thunder shot the lights out, shooting 69.6 percent, while the Magic struggled to find any consistency on either end. The Magic also struggled to take care of the ball, coughing it up six times leading to eight Oklahoma City points. Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka combined for 17 opening quarter points, with Westbrook scoring nine and Ibaka eight. Orlando was led by Nikola Vucevic's 10. The 37 points given up in the opening quarter were the most the Magic had given up in an opening quarter all season.

Much like the first quarter, the second was all Thunder. Oklahoma City started the quarter 8-of-8 from the field, before finishing 16-of-21 overall. The Magic looked absolutely lifeless the entire half, getting dominated on both ends of the floor. The Magic couldn't push the pace, scoring zero fastbreak points, and had trouble initiating the offense in the half court, per the usual. Oklahoma City's 79 points were the most the Magic have given up in a half in their 26 years, beating the previous record of 78 held by the Houston Rockets. Kevin Durant led four Thunder players in double figure with 16, with Vucevic continuing to lead the Magic with 14.

Out of halftime, the Magic showed a few early signs of life, knocking down a set of three-pointers quickly. However, those signs of life were drowned out quickly, with the Thunder beginning to impose their will once again. The Thunder pushed the pace, found easy shots and just flat out imposed their will and beat the Magic down. Despite outscoring the Thunder 31-24 in the quarter, the Magic still found themselves down 27 heading into the final quarter. Durant's 21 led all scorers, with Victor Oladipo's 19 leading the Magic.

With the game already decided, all the Magic had to play for was pride. Their struggles continued, and the Thunder eased their way to a hugh win. The overall performance was, arguably, the worst performance of the season for Orlando, and their uptempo style was nowhere to be found all night.

Oklahoma City finished with seven players in double figures, led by Durant's 21-point, 11-rebound, eight assists performance. Russell Westbrook finished with a pedestrian 17, with Serge Ibaka adding 16. Dion Waiters also added 16 off the bench, with Reggie Jackson and Kendrick Perkins also finishing in double figures, scoring 13 and 11 off the bench respectively. Andre Roberson rounded out Thunder players in double figures, finishing with 10.

Four Magic players finished in double figures, led by Oladipo's game high 23. Elfrid Payton had another nice night, finishing with 19 points and eight assists. Vucevic rounded out the group, finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds.