ORLANDO – A surprise substitution made his way into the Thunder's 126-117 win against the Magic on Tuesday.
For the first time since Dec. 23, Alex Abrines played for the Thunder, entering the game with 7:58 left in the second quarter.
Through one quarter, it appeared that Thunder coach Billy Donovan was going to play an eight-man rotation. Even with Steven Adams (right ankle sprain) and Terrance Ferguson (back spasms) ruled out in pregame, Donovan only brought Abdel Nader, Dennis Schroder and Patrick Patterson off the bench as the Thunder trailed 35-32 after 12 minutes.