VIDEOS: Team Highlights | Walker Highlights | James Borrego | Nic Batum
By Matt Rochinski
The Hornets battled back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter on the road in Oklahoma City, cutting the Thunder lead to as little as one point before eventually falling to the home team, 109-104. Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 25 points on 10-of-23 shooting (43.5 percent) to go with a game-high-tying eight assists as the Hornets evened their record at 9-9.
In a game featuring eight lead changes and seven ties, the Thunder appeared to have things in control 13 seconds into the fourth quarter when Dennis Schroder found Nerlens Noel for an alley oop that gave the Thunder a double-digit lead, 91-80, and continued momentum coming off a strong third-quarter finish.
As they have been all season, the Hornets seem unphased, this time with Head Coach James Borrego’s group of Walker, rookies Devonte’ Graham and Miles Bridges, and veterans Jeremy Lamb and Marvin Williams finding a groove in crunch time. With their backs against the proverbial wall, Charlotte outscored Oklahoma City 24-14 over the next 11:10 to trim the Thunder lead to 105-104. Marvin Williams capped the run with a three-pointer on the right side that not only made it a one-possession game, but also pushed him over the 10,000-point mark for his career.
Charlotte had the chance to put this one away thanks to a play on the defensive end by Walker, as the Hornets captain was able to poke the ball out of Russell Westbrook’s hands near the baseline, which last touched off Westbrook’s fingertips, giving the Hornets the ball back with 20.9 seconds remaining and a chance to win on the road. Walker attacked the Thunder defense on the right side and kicked it out to Williams on the left baseline for the potential game winner, but Williams’ trey was just off the mark. Westbrook converted two Thunder free throws with 11.2 ticks left, but Walker had one more chance to send it to an extra session. Unfortunately Walker’s three from the right side hit off the front of the rim before Westbrook iced the game away with two more free throws.
“We just kept battling,” said Borrego. “It was another tough opponent on the road. I’m proud of our guys. They battled, especially on the boards and had a chance to win it. We a good look and had another good look to tie it. I’m really proud of our group tonight.”
Walker got plenty of help from his teammates again in this one, as Lamb (18 points), Frank Kaminsky (12), Dwayne Bacon (11), Williams (10) and Cody Zeller (10) all finished scoring in double figures. After scoring 18 on Wednesday against Indiana, Bacon has now scored in double digits in back-to-back games for just the second time in his career.
One night after hitting 18 three-pointers, the Hornets struggled from long range, connecting on just 6-of-31 treys (19.4 percent), while Oklahoma City - which entered the night with the league’s worst three-point percentage - drained 11-of-33 attempts (33.3 percent).
Westbrook led the Thunder with a near triple-double, scoring 30 points to go with 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Charlotte now heads to Atlanta for a 6 p.m. tip on Sunday against the Hawks.