Field Level Media
Mar 14, 2022
Terry Rozier scored 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting to lift the Charlotte Hornets to a 134-116 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
The Hornets, who overcame an 18-point deficit, have won back-to-back games and four of their past six. The Thunder have lost six consecutive games overall and 10 straight home games.
During its losing streak, Oklahoma City has allowed an average of 131.2 points per game.
Charlotte turned the ball over a season-low five times and scored 27 points off the Thunder's 18 giveaways.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points, scoring 30 or more for the eighth time in 10 games since the All-Star break. He also had a team-best eight rebounds.
Darius Bazley added 25, his second-highest scoring output of the season. Bazley scored 29 points in Oklahoma City's Sunday loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Hornets shot 53.3 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from behind the 3-point arc. Charlotte hit 20 shots from long distance, including five each from Miles Bridges (27 points) and LaMelo Ball (21 points).
The Hornets hit their first seven shots over the first five minutes of the game, with eight points by Rozier helping Charlotte to a five-point lead.
But then the Thunder, who scored a 41 points in the first quarter, went on a 33-10 run that put Oklahoma City up by 18 points early in the second quarter. The 41 points represented the Thunder's highest total in an opening period this season.
Oklahoma City shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the first.
However, after falling behind 47-29, the Hornets' defense sparked a 28-10 run.
Charlotte tied it twice late in the second quarter, then finally grabbed the lead on Rozier's 3-pointer in the final minute.
The Hornets scored 13 points off of Oklahoma City's seven second-quarter turnovers while giving the ball up only once themselves.
After going just 2 of 8 from the floor in the first half, Ball came on strong in the third. He scored 14 points in just more than five minutes to start the second half, hitting four 3-pointers.
--Field Level Media