Schroder, Paul lead Thunder past Magic 120-114

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Dennis Schroder scored 31 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder shot 60.5% against one of the NBA’s better defenses Wednesday night and beat the Orlando Magic 120-114.

Schroder came off the bench with 13-for-18 shooting and added nine assists for the Thunder, who won for the eighth time in nine road games.

Chris Paul added 19 points and six assists for Oklahoma City, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Terrence Ross scored 26 points and Nikola Vucevic added 24 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando, which had allowed an NBA-low 103.9 points per game.

Oklahoma City’s 60.5% (46 of 76) shooting was a season-high against the Magic.

The Thunder led by as many as 14 points during the first half in which they shot 63.4%.

Nerlens Noel dunked twice on a 14-2 run early in the third quarter to help the Thunder take a 15-point lead, but Ross finished the period with a big scoring burst, rallying Orlando and tying the game at 89-89. Ross converted a four-point play while scoring 12 points in the final 2:09 of the quarter, then opened the fourth with a steal and a layup.

After the Thunder went 3:46 without scoring, Aaron Gordon missed two fee throws that could have put the Magic ahead with 3:49 left in the game. Schroder and Paul scored the next 10 points for the Thunder and put the game away.

TIP-INS

Thunder: C Steven Adams, injured in the first quarter of Monday night’s game at Houston, did not play after testing his left ankle before the game. … Noel, who had missed six of the preceding eight games due to an ankle injury, started at center. … OKC has the NBA’s fourth-best record (19-8) since Thanksgiving, behind only Milwaukee, Utah and The L.A. Lakers.

Magic: Markelle Fultz had X-rays taken of his left ring finger before returning to the game late in the first half. … D.J. Augustin missed a fifth straight game with a left knee injury. … Jonathan Isaac, who missed an 11th game with a left knee injury, is out of his cast but remains out indefinitely. … The Magic distributed more than $1 million in grants to 16 local nonprofit organizations Wednesday morning in a special ceremony.

UP NEXT

Thunder: Play at home against Atlanta on Friday night.

Magic: Play at home against Boston on Friday night.