Some Oklahoma City Thunder players, like center Al Horford, may have had a little bit of a surprise when they stepped onto the court to face the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.

There were some people in the crowd.

The Magic are allowing up to 4,000 people to attend games at Amway Center at the start of the season. The small group made noise as the Thunder ran to a 108-99 victory.

“I actually didn’t know they were allowing fans in here, so it was a good surprise,” Horford said.

The TV broadcast picked up not just Magic fans, but some Thunder fans in attendance as well.

It was a departure from the norm these days. Obviously, there were no fans in the NBA bubble. The Thunder were initially set to allow a small number of fans into Chesapeake Energy Arena at the beginning of the season, but changed course as COVID-19 positive test, death and hospitalization rates rose in November.

Oklahoma City, like many other teams around the NBA, has been playing without fans.

In just the Thunder’s second away game of the season — third, if you count the preseason matchup against the San Antonio Spurs — they finally got to hear a crowd, small as it was.

“It felt good. It’s doesn’t quite feel like a normal game, but it was just good to go out there and hear the fans. Feel them a little bit,” Horford said.