With the 30-6 Oklahoma City Thunder hosting the Charlotte Hornets, you might have expected a blowout. Just not one with the Hornets on the winning side.
The Hornets out-rebounded the Thunder, 52-33 ,and sank eight more three-pointers to stun the defending champions, 124-97. They became only the second team to defeat the Thunder on their home court this season, showing that their rookie-heavy team might not be far away from competing.
Hornets exposed Thunder’s vulnerability inside
Before last year’s title season, the Thunder addressed their rebounding weakness by signing big man Isaiah Hartenstein. He’s out with a left calf strain for the second time this season, and his team sorely misses his 10.4 rebounds per game. Moussa Diabate finished with 12 rebounds and Miles Bridges added 11 Monday, while Brandon Miller matched Chet Holmgren’s six boards.
That’s how Charlotte overcame a huge turnover disparity (21-7) in a game where the Thunder got 16 more shot attempts than the Hornets. When they forced misses by the Thunder, the Hornets made it count by limiting OKC’s second-chance points.
The Thunder like to play small-ball. Monday, 6-foot-5 Jalen Williams started at power forward versus a Hornets starting lineup where Kon Knueppel was the shortest player at 6-foot-6. Only Holmgren delivered much size.
That helped the ball-hawking Thunder get turnovers, but against one of the most prolific three-point shooting teams in the league, they didn’t get the usual shooting advantage that small-ball lineups often provide. Charlotte shot 19-for-39 from behind the arc, with Miller leading the way shooting 7-for-10 and LaMelo Ball going 4-for-7. Since Dec. 1, Ball is shooting 46.1 percent from deep, including a truly outrageous triple falling out of bounds Monday.