By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Oklahoma City Thunder sustained their fiery streak after pulling off a wire-to-wire victory over the Charlotte Hornets, 106-94, in the ongoing NBA regular season on December 29, 2024.
With another win, the hottest team in the league just racked its 10th consecutive win and maintained its top spot in the Western Conference with a 25-5 win-loss record.
Oklahoma quickly gained the advantage in the opening 12 minutes of the game, building a six-point cushion, 28-22, heading into the second frame.
After a slow start offensively, the Thunder ramped it up in the scoring column when they got hot from the three-point land that increased their lead to 15 points.
Eager to limit Oklahoma’s three-point attempts, Charlotte decided to lock up the perimeter and let the Thunder generate most of their field goals from the paint area but that didn’t help either as Isaiah Hartenstein and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joined hands in putting the Hornets’ frontcourt in early foul trouble.
The newly acquired Hartenstein crashed the offensive boards that piled up Oklahoma’s second-chance points while Alexander relentlessly attacked Charlotte’s interior with his crafty drives.
Although the Hornets threatened to comeback in the fourth when start power forward Miles Bridges scored some timely buckets, the duo of Jaylen Williams and Alexander countered with their own clutch hits that helped the Thunder maintain their double-digit lead.
Alexander extended his streak of scoring 20 points or more to 27 straight games after ending the win with 22 markers.
The Canadian superstar shot the ball efficiently, converting eight out of his 15 total attempts while tallying six assists, four rebounds, two steals, and a block.
Meanwhile, Williams backstopped his co-star with 20 points, six dimes, and three rebounds, while Hartenstein added a double-double outing of 12 markers, 15 boards, and four dimes.
On the other hand, the struggling Hornets missed the services of their franchise player LaMelo Ball who was ruled out due to ankle soreness.
Bridges stepped up for Ball, delivering a near triple-double performance of 19 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and a steal.
