Serge Ibaka showed the Thunder the best of what they let go.
The forward, traded from Oklahoma City to Orlando in the offseason, hit a baseline jumper with less than a second remaining to give the Magic a 119-117 win over Russell Westbrook and the Thunder on Sunday night.
“Coach called my name, and I was ready,” Ibaka said. “I work on my shot every night and every summer, so I was just ready to make a play.”
Though he enjoyed his time with the Thunder and respects the organization and the fans, he said it was an emotional day and it was important for him to play well. He scored a career-high 31 points and added nine rebounds and four blocks.
“I’m not going to lie to you, it feels good,” he said.
With the score tied in the final minute, Westbrook missed a pull-up jumper, and Orlando rebounded and called timeout with 11 seconds remaining to set up Ibaka’s winner with 0.4 seconds left. Ibaka pump-faked Steven Adams, got him to bite, then drained the shot.
“He had a special performance,” Magic coach Frank Vogel said. “A night I’m sure he’ll remember for the rest of his career.”
Ibaka was cheered loudly during pregame introductions. He acknowledged the fans by twice raising both arms to the sky.
“It shows that the people still love me, and I respect that and appreciate that a lot,” he said.
Westbrook finished with 41 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season and 40th of his career. The Thunder had won 20 straight when Westbrook tallied a triple-double.
