Russell Westbrook stuffed the stat sheet once again, but the inefficient performance wasn’t enough to spoil a Charlotte Hornets’ victory.
Westbrook poured in a game-high 33 points, but the one man wrecking crew finished 10-of-30 from the field in the 123-112 loss. The Charlotte Hornets laid out a plan for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to smother Westbrook and it proved to be a winning move by Steve Clifford. MKG stayed in front of the explosive guard all night and it clearly affected Westbrook.
On the other side, Charlotte’s backcourt turned in what is becoming a typical performance. Nicolas Batum dropped in a season-high 28 points, all while Kemba Walker turned it on in the final quarter, finishing with 20 points and nine assists.
Charity Stripe Proves Fruitful For Charlotte
The Hornets attempted 49 free throws.
No that is not a typo, Charlotte hit 40-of-49 attempts from the line, taking 26 more attempts than the Thunder. 40 made free throws in a game is good for fifth in franchise history.
A bevy of them stemmed from very favorable calls via the guys in zebra stripes. Batum had a few questionable calls go his way; leading to a game-high 13 made free throws on 15 attempts. The Hornets moved the ball beautifully all game and found Oklahoma City out of position plenty of times, leading to careless Thunder fouls. Watch here as Marvin Williams takes advantage of quick ball movement to draw a foul in the lane.
Charlotte should continue to put an emphasis on attacking the rim through efficient ball movement, leading to more free throw attempts.
The Stache Brothers Explode
Enes Kanter and Steven Adams are quickly turning into an unstoppable paint combination for Oklahoma City.
The duo combined for 40 points and 20 rebounds against the Hornets.
Kanter and Adams made their mark in the third quarter, cashing in down low on easy lay-ins and truly bullying the likes of Spencer Hawes and Frank Kaminsky for tough buckets. Charlotte knew the combo could flourish with so much emphasis on Westbrook, luckily for the Hornets slams like this one were few and far between down the stretch.
Steven Adams slams down strong one-handed dunk. #nba #ThunderUp https://t.co/RVKmhHtVhU
— HighlightHub (@HighlightHub_) January 5, 2017
Tie-Ups
- Marco Belinelli returned from his ankle injury, scoring nine points in his first game back.
- Frank Kaminsky was on track to eclipse his career-high in points but he failed to score after halftime, finishing the night with 17 points.
- Roy Hibbert started the game in place of a concussed Cody Zeller, though you wouldn’t know it from his stat line. Hibbert scored three points in 15 minutes, all by way of the free throw line. Spencer Hawes seems poised to jump him in the line-up.
- Russell Westbrook received a technical for hitting a referee with the ball early on in the game.
Next: Charlotte Hornets Top-10 Moments of 2016
The victory marked Charlotte’s first time beating the Thunder since March, 17th 2010. Now the Hornets face a quick turnaround when they take on the Pistons on the second night of a back to back. The trip to Detroit marks the beginning of a five-game road trip for Charlotte.