The Charlotte Hornets closed out a perfect two-game road trip, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder, 134-116, on Monday.
Both teams got off to a fast start in the first quarter. The Hornets were 7-of-7 from the field. Even a perfect start on the offensive end was not enough to prevent the Thunder from establishing an early lead. The Hornets allowed the Thunder to get anything they wanted and the Thunder crashed the offensive boards on their rare missed shots. Charlotte went on a four minute drought, while Oklahoma City built a 14 point lead. The Thunder went on an extended 22-3 surge, as they scored 41 points in the quarter and had a 12-point lead, 41-29, going into the second.
The Hornets were down by as much as 18, as the Thunder went on a 6-0 run to start the quarter. Hornets Isaiah Thomas responded with four three-pointers in a two minute span, to slice a big chunk off the lead. Charlotte got some points in the paint, and a shot from downtown from Miles Bridges, to bring themselves back into the game. They briefly tied the game at different points and Terry Rozier put them into the lead, with under 30 seconds remaining in the first half. Cody Martin stole a pass at mid court, to give the Hornets a three-point lead, before the Thunders’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s tip-in. The Hornets led at halftime by the slimmest of margins, 65-64.
The Hornets set the tone with a 10-2 run to begin the second half, causing the Thunder to use a timeout. LaMelo Ball did his best Isaiah Thomas impression, and hit four shots from the great beyond in just over two minutes of game time, to keep their momentum going. Gilgeous-Alexander single-handedly kept the Thunder within striking distance, with 14 points in the quarter, while the rest of his teammates could not find their rhythm. The Hornets lost some of their intensity after the run and allowed the Thunder to go on a mini run toward the end of the third. The Hornets led by 11, 102-91, going into the final frame.
Rozier connected on a much needed three-point shot to open the fourth quarter. The Hornets left Vit Krejci open, allowing him to make uncontested shots from beyond the arc. The Thunder stopped giving their hot hand the ball and the Hornets took advantage by scoring eight straight points, to put the game out of reach. The Thunder hit a few more threes, but the final outcome was never really in doubt.
The Hornets hit 20 three-pointers, shot 53% from the field and assisted on 33 of their made shots. All 12 Hornets that played scored.
“(Thomas) gives us great poise and confidence out there on the floor,” Charlotte coach James Borrego said. “(Thomas) was fantastic tonight. He was a big part in turning this game.”
Rozier had a team-high 30 points. He did a little bit of everything with six rebounds, four assists and two steals for the Hornets. Bridges finished with 27 points, three boards, six dimes and one steal. Ball added 21 points and had four rebounds, seven helpers and two steals. Thomas contributed 12 points, with one rebound, four assists and one rejection off the bench.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 32 points for the Thunder. He also had eight boards and five dimes. Darius Bazley added 25 points, with four boards and four assists. Aleksej Pokusevski contributed 17 points, five boards and five assists off the bench. Tre Mann had 13 points, five boards, six dimes and one steal.
“We’re the youngest team in the league and banged up on top of that,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “We’re trying to win games. Our guys are competing hard.”
The Thunder travel to San Antonio to take on Dejounte Murray and the Spurs on Wednesday. The Hornets host Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday for a crucial match-up.
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