Nelson kept the Magic's momentum going and found Howard

After a badly missed jumper by Kendrick Perkins, Nelson kept the Magic's momentum going and found Howard for an alley-oop.

But Durant stayed hot with a 19-foot jumper that quickly stilled the crowd.

Ryan Anderson banked in a 3 in the closing seconds and Daequan Cook missed a pair of free throws with 3.1 seconds left to set up Richardson's last heave.

""There's no chance to run when your defense is as bad as ours was in the fourth -- it's going to hurt your offense,"" Van Gundy said. ""The two go hand-in-hand, but we just literally didn't play any defense whatsoever in the fourth quarter.""

It was the Magic who were hot in the opening 24 minutes and took 53-50 lead into the break.

Orlando held as much as a nine-point edge, shooting 55 percent (21 for 38) in the half and connecting on six 3s. The Thunder shot 48 percent (20 for 41), but the Magic also limited them to nine fast break points while holding a 24-20 advantage on points in the paint.

It helped offset Westbrook's 17 first-half points, with Anderson pacing the Magic with 10 points.

""We're getting better, man, we're getting better,"" Durant said. ""Playing against a great team like this at their place. Being down 11 going into the fourth. We could have easily just given in. But we kept playing, kept fighting, and guys made plays. It's a big-time win for us.""

Game notes
The Thunder improved to a Western Conference-best 14-6 on the road this season. ... Magic F Quentin Richardson sat out his second straight game with a strained left Achilles tendon. ... Orlando was the first NBA city to celebrate a Noche Latina (Latin Night) game on Thursday. The Magic wore special El Magic jerseys to coincide with several other Latin-themed arena activities. Six other NBA cities will have Noche Latina throughout the month.