The Charlotte Hornets went into Oklahoma City and thoroughly dominated the Thunder in one of the more surprising results of the NBA season.
The Summary
We talked in the preview about the need for the Hornets to get going from deep, and they did just that to start the game. Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel hit a little early hot streak and helped the Hornets to a 12-0 run and a double digit lead. That evaporated when the second units came thanks in large part to Ajay Mitchell. After one, the game sat tied at 33.
That’s when the fun began, though it took a little while to really get going. The Hornets played inspired defense and didn’t let the Thunder make a field goal until nearly five minutes in. The Hornets turned the ball over a bunch on the other end, so they didn’t really take advantage of their own defense at first, but that changed after a Charles Lee timeout about midway through the quarter. Brandon Miller hit back to back threes then all three free throws after Lu Dort was too aggressive trying to stop a third. LaMelo Ball added a three and Miles Bridges added a circus and-1 to continue to stacking the lead while the Thunder built a brick house on the other end of the floor. LaMelo’s fading corner three helped the Hornets to a 17 point halftime lead.
LaMelo made a shot while falling out of bounds at the shot clock buzzer. Miller pulled up in transition on the next possession to put the Hornets up 22, which was the largest deficit the Thunder had faced all season to that point. As the third quarter went on, the Hornets continued to frustrate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Thunder to the point that it started showing up in their body language. Oklahoma City didn’t make a three in the third quarter while the Hornets made six. The last was a corner three off a beautiful drive and kick by Sion James while facing heavy defensive pressure from SGA that was splashed by Brandon Miller. It put the Hornets up 28.
The teams traded points for the first several minutes of the fourth quarter, which was totally okay with the visitors. As the quarter went on, it became more and more apparent that there was no hope for the home team. The backup units gradually filtered in and the Hornets coasted to their most surprising win in a long time.
The Good
Where to start? If this is the defensive effort we get from the Hornets on a regular basis, they’re going to be tough for anybody to beat. Every player was very clearly engaged for the entire competitive portion of the game. They benefited from some uncharacteristic misses by the Thunder, but that tends to happen when you frustrate your opponent prevent them from getting into a comfortable rhythm.
The defense on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserves special attention. Sion James got the assignment for much of the night, and he couldn’t have guarded him much better. He was able to match SGA’s quickness and did a perfect job guarding with his chest and keeping his hands out of SGA’s space. Moussa Diabate had a couple of notable stands in isolation defense as well. Every Hornet played the scouting report and kept their hands away from their body. Part of the reason SGA’s shooting efficiency was so poor was because he threw up a lot of junky shots where he’d normally expect a foul that didn’t come last night. He only attempted six free throws and barely kept his 20 point streak alive.
Sion James might have had his most impressive game as a Hornet. He clamped up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and was tremendously impactful as a defender. On offense, he ran a lot of point and masterfully handled Oklahoma City’s pressure. With the game getting out of hand and the Thunder getting frustrated, they started trying to body up Hornets ball handlers out top, but James in particular seemed completely unbothered by it. He shrugged off SGA, Jalen Williams, and others to initiate the offense and put the Hornets in advantageous situations. He was very deserving of his +15 in 20 minutes.
PJ Hall is a good basketball player. We saw that in the Summer League. I don’t know how he was allowed to find his way back to the Hornets, but credit to Jeff Peterson and company for getting him back here. His effort is relentless and he packs a punch with his physicality. He totally looks like he belongs on the floor even though he’s the Hornets fourth string center at this point.
Brandon Miller was phenomenal once again. We’re getting more and more of that as he returns to form. He was clearly the best player on the floor and had more of an impact than the box score would suggest, even with as good as the box score looks.
Kon Knueppel did the thing again. He simply does not miss shots and does everything at such a high level. It’s just the same thing every night. Another 23-5-5 night in the box score.
The Bad
The only fly in the ointment was the turnovers. The Hornets turned the ball over 21 times, and the majority of them were a result of getting the ball poked away by the rangy defenders on the Thunder. They do that to everybody, so it’s not terribly surprising that the Hornets struggled there. They more than made up for it by defending in the half court.
What’s Next
The Hornets will try to use this as a catapult to some 2026 success. They come home to host the Raptors and Pacers on back to back nights starting on Wednesday.