OKLAHOMA CITY _ Over the last several years, few players have bedeviled the Orlando Magic as much as Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook has.
On Monday, however, the Thunder didn't need him to be great _ just very good.
The Thunder had Raymond Felton and Paul George.
Yes, the same 33-year-old Raymond Felton whom Jameer Nelson so thoroughly outplayed in a first-round playoff series back in 2010.
Felton came off the Thunder bench, scored 13 points and _ with help from a maddening Magic shooting slump over the final 34 minutes _ helped the Thunder beat the Magic, 112-105, at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Westbrook finished with eight points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. It was the first time he ever scored in single digits in a game against the Magic.
George scored a game-high 26 points.
The turning point came late in the third quarter, against a Magic lineup of Shelvin Mack, Rashad Vaughn, Evan Fournier, Mario Hezonja and Bismack Biyombo.
With the score tied at 77, Mack threw a pass that George intercepted. The turnover resulted in a fast break dunk by Terrance Ferguson.
On Orlando's next trip down the floor, Mack missed a turnaround, fadeaway jumper, and Felton drained a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.
When Orlando went on offense again, Mack threw another bad pass _ one that Felton intercepted, prompting the crowd inside the arena to stand and cheer. As the fans shouted and rooted on the Thunder, George missed a short-range shot, collected his own miss and scored, upping Oklahoma City's lead to 84-77.
The outburst was part of an 11-0 Thunder run that left the Thunder up 86-77.
The Magic ended the run when Biyombo scored on an alley-oop layup _ the Magic's first field goal in 6 minutes, 54 seconds.
And the Magic (18-42) never recovered.
They made only 22 of their final 60 shots _ a success rate of just 37 percent.
Orlando has lost its last six games.
Oklahoma City (35-27) recovered from a blowout loss Sunday against the Golden State Warriors.
The Magic offense encountered minimal resistance early on from the Thunder, though.
Propelled by their 17-of-24 shooting performance early in the game _ punctuated by Nikola Vucevic making his first three 3-point tries _ the Magic built a 44-33 lead with 10:10 remaining in the second quarter.
But the Magic couldn't sustain their momentum, and their notoriously leaky defense continued to have problems, especially on the glass.
Magic coach Frank Vogel has repeatedly said his players don't box out well, and they struggled again Monday. The Thunder gathered nine offensive rebounds during the first half.
As Orlando clung to a 54-51 lead late in the second quarter, Carmelo Anthony missed a 3-pointer. His errant shot produced a long rebound, and Westbrook collected the ball easily. A few seconds later, Westbrook sank a jumper from 11 feet.
The sequence prompted Vogel to call an immediate timeout.
On Nov. 29, the Magic produced one of their best performances of the season, beating the Thunder, 121-108, at Amway Center even though Westbrook scored 37 points, collected 11 rebounds and dished out five assists.
The Magic expected _ and received _ a tougher challenge Monday.
In late November, the Thunder were still trying to jell following the offseason additions of George and Anthony.
But since that loss, Oklahoma City posted a 26-15 record heading into Monday's rematch against Orlando.
Westbrook's scoring was Orlando's primary concern Monday, but Vogel noted before tipoff that Westbrook also entered the day leading the NBA in assists, averaging 10.4 per game. Westbrook is such a dangerous threat to drive to the hoop that defenses naturally close in on him, which, in turn, creates opportunities for Westbrook to throw lobs to the rim for center Steven Adams and others.
The Magic made 56 percent of their first-half shots, but they carried only a 62-61 lead into halftime partly because Magic defenders had problems keeping their men in front of them. Late in the second quarter, George and Anthony each scored on driving layups.
Those layups foreshadowed what followed.
