On Tuesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder are set to welcome the Orlando Magic into the Paycom Center, as they look to build on their win over the weekend. Their previous win came in a match that pitted two titans of the Western Conference against each other, with the Denver Nuggets putting up a solid fight.
While former MVP Nikola Jokic would have a relatively quiet night, being limited to 16 points and eight assists, Peyton Watson would provide the Nuggets with an offensive surge, dropping 29 points across 37 minutes on the court.
However, this wouldn't be enough to suppress the firepower that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was putting out, scoring 34 points on 68 percent shooting from the floor, while dishing out a team-high 13 assists. Elsewhere on the Thunder, Cason Wallace would put up a notable 27 points en route to a 121-111 Thunder victory.
While Gilgeous-Alexander played a huge part in the Thunder's win against the Nuggets, the same may not be said on Tuesday night, as the Canadian superstar has been downgraded. According to Oklahoma City's injury report, Gilgeous-Alexander is listed as "questionable" against the Magic due to a sprain in his right index finger.
If the defending MVP is to miss out on Tuesday night's action, it will be only his third absence of the season, as he has proven to be rather durable up to this point in the campaign. This has led the Thunder's star guard to make quite a resume to defend his title as the League's Most Valuable Player, scoring an average of 32 points, while dishing out 6.4 assists and grabbing 4.4 rebounds per game.
In the two games the Canadian has missed this season, Oklahoma City is 2-0, with its win against the Utah Jazz a 30-point blowout and its win over the Memphis Grizzlies ending in a nail-biting fashion.
The Thunder are set to take on the Magic on Tuesday night, with tip-off at the Paycom Center slated for 8:00 p.m. EST.
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