Oklahoma City Thunder Falls to Orlando Magic

Originally Published: Nov 18, 2009 8:50 PM CDT

Vitals | Recap | Box Score

Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Rashard Lewis fell one assist shy of his first triple-double, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the Orlando Magic's 108-94 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.

Lewis, who was suspended for the first 10 games of the season for violating the league's substance abuse policy, didn't play in the fourth quarter, which the Magic started with an 88-58 lead

His performance helped Orlando overcome the loss of starting point guard Jameer Nelson, who underwent arthroscopic surgery Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Nelson is expected to miss four to six weeks.

Vince Carter added 18 points and Dwight Howard had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who put six players in double figures and won their third straight game.

Rookie James Harden scored a career-high 24 points off the bench, going 6 of 7 from 3-point range. He didn't get much help from the Oklahoma City starters, who were a combined 14 of 45 (31 percent) from the field. Kevin Durant had 12 points, and Jeff Green and Kyle Weaver 11 apiece for the Thunder.

The Magic didn't seem to miss Nelson, hitting five of their first six shots and scoring 28 points in the first quarter with Jason Williams making his first start of the season at point guard.

Anthony Johnson, who has played only mop-up minutes this season, took over in the second period and kept the offense humming. The 13-year pro, who had scored only four points all season, hit his first two shots and passed out two assists as the Magic expanded their lead to 20 points. Carter's second 3-pointer of the half made it 53-33 with 5:28 left.

Oklahoma City, which shot 57 percent in a 102-74 rout of Orlando two weeks ago, couldn't find a rhythm in the rematch. Durant shot only 3 of 7 in the first half and the Thunder made 41 percent as a team.

Harden had 12 points in the second period, including a pair of 3-pointers, but the Thunder still trailed 61-43 at halftime.