Oklahoma City, OK – The Thunder welcome the Charlotte Hornets into the Paycom after ending their two game skid Wednesday night against the Nuggets.
They looked to start another win steak and with one of the worst teams in the league coming in most assumed they would. On paper, even though the Thunder were going to be without Jalen Williams and Isaiah Joe for the second straight game, this one was projected to be a blowout for the Thunder with the Hornets missing three starters in LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward, or Mark Williams.
And that’s exactly what it was.
From the tip, this game went exactly as how you’d think. Thunder imposed their will on the Hornets on both ends of the floor and there was really nothing they could do. They got whatever shot they wanted making their presence known in the paint. One that was established they kicked it out to open guys for great looks.
Defensively, it was the same. They got whatever they wanted. Thunder were extremely disruptive getting into passing lanes and making sure they were in help when someone got beat. Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 5, the Thunder had 9 steals to go with 8 blocks in the first half.
The second half was no different. It was a continuance of everything they did in the first half and that is the type of thing you want from a team sitting at the top of the standings.
A solid win where the opposing team that, shouldn’t have a chance isn’t close all night and you get your starters some much needed rest in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder paced themselves to a 126-106 victory to push their win steak to two.
Here are the reasons for the victory
Lights Out Shooting
On most nights, if the Thunder took more threes (36) than shots in the paint (36) I would be saying they can’t have a night like that because a lot of teams don’t win that way and that’s not particularly how the Thunder play.
Tonight was different.
The Thunder shot really well from the floor. The numbers are also a little skewed with how many free throws the they shot. However, the shots that they got were mostly great looks. They started by getting to their bread and butter which is establishing themselves in the paint and then kicking it out to shooters for good looks hitting 17 of their 36 threes. They’re unbeatable when they shoot the way they did.
Bench Mob
The bench wound up with 51 points against the Hornets which is great but it’s not really about them scoring a lot. It’s more about them being able to keep the pace, effort, and intensity that the starters gave. It would have been easy for them to come in flat but that wasn’t the case.
It wasn’t one guy either. Every single guy that came in gave some kind of production and they were good enough to give the starters a break in the fourth.
Setting the Tone On Defense
This game is going to look good for the Thunder because they put up 126 points and that is great because to win a game you have to score more points than the other team. You also have to play some defense and the defense they played against the Hornets was nothing short of phenomenal.
Led by Shai, who set the tone, the Thunder were everywhere on the defensive end. Constantly staying in passing lane, helping the help, and were extremely physical making things really tough for the Hornets. The extra impressive thing was how they stayed engaged the whole night and didn’t have any let down.
You mix their defensive effort with they way they shot and they’re unbeatable.
The Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31 points, 9 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks, and 3 rebounds. It was his 9th straight 30 point game which ties Kevin Durant for the second longest record in Thunder history. Chet Holmgren added 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks while Cason Wallace added 12 points. Off the bench, Ousmane Dieng led the way with 11 points and 4 assists while Aaron Wiggins added 10 points and 4 assists.
The Thunder will look to make it three in a row when they welcome the Raptors on Sunday night.
