Thunder Can't Cool Off Hot Hornets in Charlotte
The Charlotte Hornets shot 54 percent from the field and went on a 9-0 run late in the game to clinch a 121-113 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Neither team led by more than 10 points and there were seven ties and eight lead changes.
Charlotte broke a 103-103 tie on a floater by LaMelo Ball with 4:14 to play and never trailed again.
Bell's shot was sandwiched by a dunk and three-pointer from P.J. Washington, and Ball later hit a three-pointer to put Charlotte up seven with 50 seconds left.
Ball had 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists, while Washington had 25 points.
The Thunder were led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 28 points, with two other OKC starters scoring at least 20 points.
Luguentz Dort had 22 points and Josh Giddey 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Tre Mann came off the bench to score 17 points, but was just 1-for-9 from three-point range, and Jalen Williams had 15 points.
The Thunder shot just 42 percent from the field and were outrebounded 52-41.
OKC lost its second straight game to fall to 15-20 on the season.
The Thunder close the calendar year by hosting Philadelphia on Saturday night at 7:00 pm in their annual New Year's Eve home game.