Thunder Sting The Hornets, Win Fourth Straight

There’s nothing quite like a slow road game in the middle of the regular season, and that’s exactly what the Oklahoma City Thunder fought through on Saturday night in Charlotte (17-16), as they beat the Hornets 109-90 to improve to 24-10 on the season.  

Superstar Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 29 points and 11 rebounds in the win, and the forward was also perfect from downtown where he nailed all three of his shots from behind the arc. Oklahoma City is now 16-4 since Durant returned from an ankle injury that slowed him down at the beginning of the season.

The Thunder hit the ground running from the tip of this matchup, and held a 32-17 lead late in the first quarter. OKC took a 12 point lead into halftime, but the Hornets came out of intermission on a tear and made the score 66-64 with 9:45 left in the third frame. Led by Durant, the Thunder were able to regroup and finish out the quarter on a 21-to-12 run.

Oklahoma City’s dominance continued in the fourth quarter by holding the Hornets on a field goal drought that lasted longer than six minutes as the Thunder cruised to victory.

OKC out-rebounded the Hornets 53-to-34, and led in the block category as well with 15 compared to Charlotte’s seven blocks. Tonight’s victory makes 10 straight wins for the Thunder over Charlotte.

Russell Westbrook totaled 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Serge Ibaka scored 14 points, and both Enes Kanter and Anthony Morrow added 12 each. Kemba Walker led the way for the Hornets with 32 points and three steals.

The Thunder will be back in action on Monday night at home when they host the Kings.