The Thunder extended their win streak to five as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren powered a dominant third-quarter surge that lifted Oklahoma City past the Hornets 109-96.
CHARLOTTE – The Oklahoma City Thunder looked every bit like a team settling comfortably into its rhythm. Behind 33 points and 7 assists from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a strong two-way performance from Chet Holmgren, the Thunder rolled past the Charlotte Hornets 109-96 on Saturday night, extending their winning streak to five and moving to 13-1 on the season.
Even with Charlotte missing Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball, the game didn’t start out easy for Oklahoma City. The first half was a back and forth battle featuring 11 ties and 11 lead changes, with both teams trading momentum in short bursts.
The Thunder found themselves down by six at one point in the second quarter before Gilgeous-Alexander steadied things with 18 first half points, and Holmgren helped control the paint with his energy on the boards.
By halftime, Oklahoma City had just a 55-52 edge due to the Hornets staying in it largely because of their outside shooting, hitting 10-24 attempts from three, and because of how they spread the scoring load. Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 15 points, while Ryan Kalkbrenner, Collin Sexton, and Moussa Diabate added 13 apiece.
But whatever balance Charlotte had in the first half disappeared quickly after the break with the third quarter belonging entirely to the Thunder.
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