Durant’s pull-up 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left lifts Thunder past Magic
Kevin Durant made a pull-up 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Orlando Magic 117-114 for their fifth straight win.
The Magic had the ball in a tie game with 29 seconds left, but Serge Ibaka blocked Victor Oladipo’s driving layup at the rim. It would have put the Magic ahead. They had the ball down 3 after a timeout, but Oladipo missed a 30-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.
During clutch time, the Thunder outscored the Magic 8-7. Durant (No. 4 in clutch points, 2015-16) scored 6 of the Thunder’s 8 on 2 for 4 shooting.
Durant had 37 points and 3 blocks, and Russell Westbrook added 24 points (12 in the paint), a season-high 19 rebounds and 14 assists, his eighth triple-double of the season. Durant and Westbrook set each other up for 7 baskets and 15 points.
For the Magic, Oladipo scored a season-high 37 points on 13 for 20 shooting.
The Magic gave up 19 offensive rebounds, about 8 more than usual for the shots the Thunder missed. The Thunder’s starters outscored the Magic 65-54 in 26 minutes together.