Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 33 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder won their fifth straight game, cruising in the second half of a 109-96 victory over the host Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
Chet Holmgren racked up 25 points and Ajay Mitchell had 14 points off the bench. Isaiah Hartenstein posted 12 points to go with Cason Wallace’s 10 points for the Thunder.
Miles Bridges had 15 points to lead the Hornets, while Collin Sexton, Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner all had 13 and Tre Mann had 10. Diabate grabbed 11 rebounds.
Hornets guard LaMelo Ball returned to action Friday night at Milwaukee following a multi-week absence with an ankle ailment, but he wasn’t in action on the back end of games on consecutive nights. Kalkbrenner was back on the court after missing Friday night’s game for personal reasons, while reserve KJ Simpson also returned from an absence and logged time off the bench.
The Thunder, who hadn’t played since Wednesday night, led 55-52 at halftime before a big third quarter, scoring 32 points.
Charlotte was even at 57-57 early in the second half before a 16-1 run by the Thunder, with Gilgeous-Alexander registering nine points during that stretch. He had six more points before the end of the third quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with three of Oklahoma City’s 12 baskets from 3-point territory. He was 13-for-19 from the floor.
The Hornets were relying heavily on 3-point shooting, but that wasn’t enough against the efficient Thunder. They also reduced Charlotte’s chances at the free-throw line as the Hornets ended up just 6-for-7 on foul shots.
It was a tight first half, with the Hornets relying on 3-point shooting to stick with the Thunder until halftime.
