National Basketball Association
Oklahoma City 109, Charlotte 107
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 26, 2020
Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Officials:
#50 Gediminas Petraitis, #13 Dannica Mosher, #16 David Guthrie
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points, hitting the game-winning shot with 1.4 seconds remaining, to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 109-107 win at the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
Oklahoma City led 102-89 with two minutes remaining before Charlotte turned up the pressure defensively and narrowed the margin with a series of 3-pointers.
Oklahoma City turned the ball over three times in the final two minutes, and Gilgeous-Alexander's two missed free throws in the final 35 seconds helped keep the Hornets within striking distance.
Gilgeous-Alexander was back on the line with 15.7 seconds left after the Hornets had trimmed the lead to one. He hit both of the free throws, but Miles Bridges nailed a 3-pointer moments later to tie the game after Oklahoma City had led since early in the third quarter.
Bridges hit three 3-pointers in the final 24.9 seconds and scored all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
After a timeout, Gilgeous-Alexander nailed a step-back jumper from just inside the 3-point line to put the Thunder back ahead.
Terry Rozier's 3-pointer at the buzzer went long to end the game.
George Hill added 21 points, making 8 of 9 attempts from the floor, for the Thunder. Luguentz Dort and Darius Bazley scored 15 each, with Bazley adding 10 rebounds.
Rozier led the Hornets with 19 points, while P.J. Washington added 18.
After being held scoreless in his NBA debut, LaMelo Ball, the third overall pick in last month's draft, made 5 of 10 attempts from the floor, finishing with 13 points and six rebounds.
The Thunder, in their season opener, grabbed control in the third quarter, holding Charlotte to just 16 points.
The Hornets were just 6 of 30 from the floor in the quarter. While Washington and Caleb Martin each hit three shots in the third, the rest of the Charlotte roster went 0 for 20 from the floor.
Oklahoma City ripped off an 11-0 run beginning just after halftime to grab the lead for what looked to be for good until Bridges' late heroics.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Oklahoma City |
|
Charlotte |
|
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 24 |
Scoring |
Terry Rozier 19 |
|
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 9 |
Assists |
Devonte' Graham 10 |
|
Al Horford 13 |
Rebounds |
Bismack Biyombo 9 |
|
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Terry Rozier 7 |
|
Theo Maledon 2 |
Steals |
Gordon Hayward 2 |
|
Darius Bazley 2 |
Blocks |
P.J. Washington 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Oklahoma City
|
109 |
45.5 |
10-36 |
19-24 |
25 |
54 |
7 |
10 |
17 |
| Charlotte
|
107 |
39.8 |
13-32 |
20-32 |
27 |
47 |
8 |
11 |
13 |
Upcoming Games
-
Charlotte will play their next game at home against Brooklyn. The Hornets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
-
Oklahoma City will play their next game at home against Utah. The Thunder have a W/L % of .000 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
For more information, contact us