"At the outset of a shorter season that figures to favor teams with a longer bench, the Thunder opened with a 97-89 victory over the Orlando Magic thanks in large part to an "A" effort from its "B" team.

It was the OKC reserves who took a 21-18 deficit and flipped it to a 27-22 lead in the closing minutes of the first quarter.

It was the Thunder's B Team that took an 11-point lead in the third quarter and doubled it for an 85-63 lead with 8:21 left in the game.

From that point on, not even a sloppy finish could ruin the opening game of a season many project could bring the Western Conference crown to the fourth-year franchise from OKC.

"They came in both halves and gave us a spark," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said of James Harden, Nick Collison, Eric Maynor, Nazr Mohammed and Daequan Cook. "I thought they played well. It's very important for us to continue to build that 'everybody has a role' type of mentality, and they have.""