improved to 25-5 by beating the Charlotte Hornets 106-94 on Saturday. The Thunder relentless defense forced an unacceptable 18 turnovers and held the Hornets to an ice cold 29-for-80 (36.3%) from the field.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a quiet 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting, finishing below 25 points for the first time since November 10 against the Golden State Warriors. He was just 1-of-6 from beyond the arc and committed three late turnovers, though the Hornets failed to take advantage of it and did not cut their deficit below double figures. The two-time All-Star did other things even though his scoring was down, contributing six assists, four rebounds, two steals and a block.
Isaiah Hartenstein, one of the Thunders big-time free agents that they acquired this off season, had a double-double and a solid game with 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting, 15 boards and four dimes, managing to put together a complete performance, doing a little bit of everything after early foul trouble. Jalen Williams put in 20 points on an inefficient 21 shots, six assists, three rebounds and a steal.
Aaron Wiggins, returning to his home state, contributed 17 points, including three triples, on 10 shots from downtown, five rebounds, two steals and an assist. Ajay Mitchell finished with an efficient 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Thunder had a couple of notable changes in their starting lineup with Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Hartenstein, Wiggins and Mitchell. Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace sat out their first games of the season.
Without their two best players available, LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, the Hornets trotted out Vasilije Micic, Seth Curry, Josh Green, Miles Bridges and Mark Williams.
Miles Bridges had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Vasa Micic added 16 points for the Hornets, who are up the creek without a paddle at this point have lost 15 of their last 16 games.
Hartenstein was active, tipping in a layup from Gilgeous-Alexander, an assist to a cutting Wiggins, four rebounds and an illegal screen, which Thunder coach Mark Daigneault challenged and lost, before the Hornets scored their first points. He was saddled with foul trouble and collected his third seven minutes into the game but played his usual minutes in the first-half.
Just one day after seeing his jersey raised to the rafters at Wesleyan Christian Academy, Wiggins put on a show in the first quarter scoring 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting. Gilgeous-Alexander added nine on six shot attempts to pace the Thunder, who led by six, 28-22, after 12 minutes. Rookie forward Tidjane Salaun tanked a 28-footer with 0.8 seconds remaining for the Hornets’ seventh made field goal.
Bridges knocked down a wide open three to start the second quarter after six straight first-quarter misses.
Jalen Williams answered for the Thunder with his first field goals, a pull-up jumper and cutting layup. Charlotte cut its deficit to three points with 8:06 left in the quarter through Micic, who made back-to-back jump shots.
Jaylin Williams came off the bench hot and drilled three 3-pointers before halftime. He did his thing on the defensive end drawing a charge on a Bridges layup attempt during a 10-2 Thunder surge. Isaiah Joe made an acrobatic and-one reverse layup to put Oklahoma City up by 10. Wiggins buried a three at the halftime buzzer, and the Thunder led by 15, 61-46 at the half.
With Ball, Miller and Tre Mann out of the lineup, Charlotte simply did not have the firepower they desperately needed to keep up with the Thunder. On the majority of offensive sets Micic and Bridges were the focal point of the offense. The Hornets had some opportunities to get it under 10 late in the game but could not convert enough shots. It is a make or miss league.
The Hornets scored three corner triples, including two by Green, and two bunnies in the first five minutes of the second half. Hartenstein made a floater and executed a steal-and-slam against Micic to restore Oklahoma City’s 15-point advantage.
Gilgeous-Alexander missed all four of his 3-point attempts in the third frame, in which his team shot a dismal 1-for-14 from downtown. However, even with all that poor shooting, the Thunder found a way to score 29 points in the frame due to efficient 2-point shooting and four steals which led to transition baskets. Oklahoma City maintained a healthy 16-point lead, 90-74, after three quarters, and we know how the story ends.
The Thunder take on the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, Memphis Grizzlies in Paycom Center on Sunday at 6 p.m. CST.
The Hornets host Coby White and the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
