OKC Thunder vs. Magic, Nov. 5 replay: 3 keys in the match

Tonight’s Fox replay features the OKC Thunder and Magic. Tune in with these three keys to the victory.

Continuing the series of top OKC Thunder games this season Fox Sports Oklahoma is replaying their November 5th, 102-94 win over the Orlando Magic. Both teams were still searching for chemistry and rhythm. Entering the contest both teams had played six games and each had netted two victories.

In retrospect, the clubs began this season with different expectations and find themselves in the position the other was predicted to be in at this point in the 2019-20 campaign. The Magic were expected to build upon their 2018-19 postseason experience.

Although they lost in five games in the first round they pushed the eventual NBA Champion Raptors and pinpointed the areas they needed to grow. In the easier Eastern Conference and with a returning cast that featured constancy the thinking was Orlando could find themselves pushing for a home court seed.

Conversely, the OKC Thunder entered the 2019-20 campaign having revamped the roster completely. Superstars Russell Westbrook and Paul George were traded as was core contributor Jerami Grant.

In their places were future cornerstone star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, aging Point God Chris Paul, and veteran sharpshooter Danilo Gallinari. Preseason, most felt CP3 and Gallo would be gone by the trade deadline and the Thunder would miss the playoffs as they began the rebuild. At best, analysts thought the Thunder might compete for the eighth seed in the West.

As the teams hit the hiatus, the Thunder sat in fifth while the Magic were comfortably in the playoffs but as the eighth seed and a half-game out of seventh.

Over the years some of the most dramatic games in Thunder lore feature the Magic. This game doesn’t necessarily fall in that range but served up some signs of what was to come for the Thunder.