klahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drives to the basket past Orlando Magic forward Tristan da Silva. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

How Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Dismantled the Magic

Originally posted on Orlando Magic on SI
By Jeremy Brener | Last updated Mar 18, 2026 8:00 AM ET

The Orlando Magic are picking up the pieces after losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder 113-108 inside the Kia Center.

The biggest reason behind the loss was allowing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to score 40 points during the game. Gilgeous-Alexander was getting anything he wanted all night long and the Magic simply didn't have an answer for him. Magic guard Desmond Bane explained what makes Gilgeous-Alexander so good.

“He’s a good player. He puts a lot of pressure on you defensively. You know, he gets to the free throw line a lot, but he also has the defense on their heels a lot, you know? When you’re able to manipulate the defense like that, the defense tends to overreact, and he finds a way to get to the line. But, you know, he’s the MVP of the league for a reason," Bane said postgame.

SGA Gives the Magic Difficulty

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The way Gilgeous-Alexander attacks the basket makes it so hard on opposing defenses, especially because he knows how to draw fouls better than nearly anyone in the league. That is what makes the challenge of guarding him so unique compared to other top scorers in the NBA.

“You try not to, but again he hit three shooting fouls, two shooting fouls in the first half, and that’s tough because you want to guard him a certain way, you’re physical with him, but anytime you get near him, they’re looking to blow that whistle," Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said.

"And again, he’s a hard person to referee, and respect to them for being able to figure that out, but he does an unbelievable job of manipulating that. So, there’s times that you got to get it out of his hands, but he finds a way to get it back and finds him at the end of the clock. You know there [were] a couple little mis-possessions that we could have come up with, when we did make them miss. But as well as, you know, trying to turn them over.”

The Magic did a decent job containing the other Thunder weapons, but Gilgeous-Alexander is the MVP for a reason. This loss wasn't like many during the season where the Magic made the errors that beat themselves. While the Magic could have done things differently, it wasn't a poor performance from them.

The Magic still believe they are moving in the right direction despite their losses to the Atlanta Hawks and Thunder, who have the two longest winning streaks in the league. It's just a matter of being able to move past it and putting their best foot forward against the Charlotte Hornets in their next game.

This article first appeared on Orlando Magic on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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