The Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t able to collect another close win as they fall to the Charlotte Hornets, 121-113.
The Hornets — who entered the night with the second-worst record in the league — were able to improve their record to 10-26 behind an impressive LaMelo Ball performance.
Ball finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. P.J. Washington also added 25 points with 19 of those points coming in the second half. The big man duo of Mason Plumlee and Mark Williams took advantage of the Thunder’s lack of size with a combined 31 points on 13-of-14 shooting at the rim.
The Hornets were able to close the game on an 18-10 run in the final 4:24. The Hornets were able to dish out a season-high 33 assists of their 46 made shots.
Meanwhile, the Thunder had an opposite night as they had a season-low 15 assists on 42 made shots.
The Thunder also shot poorly from outside, going 11-of-36 (30.6 percent) from three. It was an ugly offensive showing for the Thunder against the 27th-ranked defensive rating team.
Certainly not the type of performance that builds confidence among the fanbase for a potential Play-In bid. The Thunder entered the night with a chance to be 1.5 games behind the 10th seed, instead a loss to a lousy Hornets squad pushes them back 2.5 games of the Golden State Warriors.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B+
In terms of comparing it to his other games this season, this was one of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lesser performances.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 28 points on 11-of-23 shooting to go along with five assists and three rebounds. The Hornets did a good job at limiting Gilgeous-Alexander’s drive as he was an inefficient 10-of-19 inside the paint and went just 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.
A stark contrast to the 10.3 free-throw attempts Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged this season.
With it being a close contest for most of the fourth quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander was held to four points on 2-of-5 shooting. The #2 leader in total clutch points was not able to take over the game for the Thunder down the stretch.
Shai step-back 👌 >>>>@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/XHHbLrHDFu
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 30, 2022
Tough take. Smooth step back. 😌
Carrying on the Thunder Way.
Vote Shai: https://t.co/2FFNkzy5oU pic.twitter.com/n5VZGmm5w7
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 30, 2022
Annnndddd THAT's an and-one for Shai 🔥@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/3YzXb8fzRK
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 30, 2022
Josh Giddey: B+
Josh Giddey continues to build on his strong December with the month coming to a close.
In 33 minutes, Giddey finished with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting, 10 rebounds and three assists. Giddey was also able to get to the free-throw line with ease as he went a perfect 7-of-7 from there.
Giddey off the give-and-go! pic.twitter.com/gFro2ETl2H
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 30, 2022
Lu Dort: B+
The Thunder trio of Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey and Lu Dort had great individual scoring games as all three scored at least 20 points.
In Dort’s case, he finished with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting and went an impressive 5-of-7 from three. Dort enjoyed the corner spots as he went 3-of-4 from there.
With that said, Dort had trouble containing LaMelo Ball. Ball had one of his best games of the season and Dort never really had control of that matchup from the very beginning as the former scored 10 points in the opening quarter.
That's COLD, Lu 🥶
There's a new option to watch the Thunder. Learn More: https://t.co/YioxgSU4nH@okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/U6xxbd0OUG
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 30, 2022
Tre Mann: B+
Tre Mann continues to collect momentum since his G League trip.
In 23 minutes off the bench, Mann finished with 17 points on 8-of-19 shooting. While going 1-of-9 from three is not ideal, the confidence is what matters more for Mann right now.
The fact that Mann’s not gun shy is a positive sign he’s not overthinking on the floor and playing within a rhythm.
Mann also had the highlight of the night for the Thunder, as he completed a monster one-handed dunk to finish the first quarter.
TRE MANN POSTER OH MY GOODNESS. @okcthunder | #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/4bVMDOfc5L
— Bally Sports Oklahoma (@BallySportsOK) December 30, 2022
That's how you finish a break!
We're all in to go all out.
Vote Thunder: https://t.co/2FFNkzy5oU pic.twitter.com/nG6O8SWBDD
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 30, 2022
Tre dances to set up the high floater pic.twitter.com/sZJTQGIA2r
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 30, 2022
