In front of a large home crowd, Manchester Magic began well by taking an early lead, however Thunder quickly got into gear. playing some of the best basketball seen at the Thunderdome. Hitting threes at will in a high scoring first quarter, the home side led 30-22 at the break.
The pressure on Manchester continued as Thunder persisted with the long range shots. Alex Owumi was on fire from downtown as it was beginning to become very one-sided. At the halfway stage, Thunder had built a big lead (70-41) and things were looking very comfortable.