After the first quarter was over, Roger easily scored 12 points.
Steve Jones was now convinced, "Roger indeed has the caliber of a scoring champion, at least that's what I believe."
At the same time, he was puzzled, "When is Coach George Karl planning to have Payton guard Roger? Clearly, the other SuperSonics players are struggling to contain him."
Roger's performance was great, and he almost won everyone's praise.
However, Magic only led by three points at the end of the first quarter after all his efforts.
The SuperSonics had successfully narrowed the score during the transition play, although Roger had only rested for two minutes, it was enough for the SuperSonics to turn the situation around.
Unlike the Magic, the SuperSonics had better depth in their lineup.
In addition to the starters, they had Nate McMillan on their bench, who had made the All-Defensive Team as a substitute for two consecutive years.