On the home court of the reigning NBA champions, the Hornets defeated the Thunder 124-97 in one of the most spectacular games of the season.
After the first quarter ended with a 33-33 deadlock between the Hornets and Thunder, Charlotte outscored Oklahoma City 66-38 in the second and third quarters to take the lead. Despite making three times as many turnovers as Oklahoma City, the Hornets managed to win by grabbing twice as many defensive rebounds as the Thunder.
“We gotta wake up tomorrow and get better,” stated Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder’s top scorer with 21 points, following the game.
Additionally, according to Nick Gallo, Gilgeous-Alexander stated:
“I just don’t think we brought the energy and multiple efforts, the energy things on both ends of the floor.”
“From the get-go it seemed like they were just ahead of us on both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively. That’s usually not a good recipe.”
According to Chet Holmgren:
“We allowed them to be comfortable,” “They played with a lot of pace, they played with a lot of force within their actions. We just didn’t match that. … We just have to be better at that and execute in those areas. It’s hard to win games when you’re playing behind the eight-ball for most of the night.”
The Thunder are 6-6 in their last 12 games after beginning the season 24-1. Oklahoma City suffered their most crushing defeat of the season against the 13-23 Hornets, who are ranked 12th in the Eastern Conference, the day after the Thunder lost to the Suns on a game-winning three by Devin Booker.
Although the Thunder are currently the best team in the Western Conference, these consecutive defeats will serve as a wake-up call for a team that genuinely aspires to win the championship again in June.
According to Brandon Rahbar, Gilgeous-Alexander stated: “Everything is a work in progress,” “We are not where we want to be at the end of the season. We have to be a lot better if we want to achieve our goals.”
