Oklahoma City Thunder 105, Orlando Magic 99: Three Takeaways

The Orlando Magic continued to put up a good fight. But brief moments of frustration still undo them as they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Orlando Magic have been dealt a rough hand this year. Their top two players suffered the same exceedingly rare basketball injury to miss a month-plus of time -- Paolo Banchero is still a few weeks away it seems he has only started lifting again and has not started running more than a jog according to an in-game report from TNT's Stephanie Ready.

The league does not care. It has no sympathy for the plight of the teams on the schedule. Everyone has to figure things out. And every team will go through a rut or period of injuries at some point.

The question is how does a team respond? How does a team respond to their injuries and their struggles? Do they keep finding a way to win?

The Magic are still answering many of those questions after a 105-99 loss to the Thunder on Thursday. They have shown grit and determination. Their defense has survived and kept them in games. It was a big factor in giving the Magic another good showing on national TV against an elite team despite all the players they were missing.

But those questions are not answered. There are still enough slips and dips that put the Magic in a bind and keep them from winning these games. The team struggles to put together a 48-minute game with the injuries they are facing. And their opponents are merciless.