Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder rally past Charlotte Hornets 111-107
The Oklahoma City Thunder held Charlotte Hornets star Kemba Walker to 21 points and recovered from a 19-point deficit for a 111-107 victory at Spectrum Center Thursday.
Walker, who entered this game averaging 30.1 points - second in the NBA - didn’t make a field goal in the first half. Despite that, the Hornets seemingly took control midway through the third quarter. Then, Russell Westbrook (29 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds) set off a furious comeback.
The Thunder got a career-high 25 points from reserve Alex Abrines.
The Hornets fell to 4-5. Malik Monk scored 21 off the bench for the Hornets and Tony Parker added 17.
Walker’s first field goal came about two minutes into the third quarter, when he hit a 3-pointer. He added another 3-pointer and a layup in a two-minute span to push the Hornets’ lead to 17.
Three who mattered
Westbrook: Creates so much chaos off the dribble.
Abrines: Probably wasn’t prominent on the Hornets’ scouting report.
Monk: Made some big second-half shots.
Observations
▪ Hornets coach James Borrego opened the game with 6-foot-5 Jeremy Lamb guarding 6-3 point guard Westbrook. It’s common for teams to use a bigger player defensively against Westbrook. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist took defensive responsibility for Westbrook when he entered the game.
▪ Westbrook drew a technical foul late in the first quarter, complaining about what he thought should have been a foul on a layup.
▪ Drawing charges obviously isn’t the flashiest thing Walker does, but he’s been great at it the past few seasons. When he drew one on Westbrook late in the first quarter, it sent Westbrook to the bench with his second foul. It was Walker’s seventh charge drawn in the season’s first nine games.
▪ The Hornets and Thunder combined for a miserable 1-of-18 from 3-point range in the first quarter.
Worth mentioning
▪ To put Walker’s seven charges drawn in context, he finished last season with 24, which tied him for third in the NBA with DeMarcus Cousins.
▪ Hornets rookie Devonte Graham will be with the G-League Greensboro Swarm at least three the weekend. So Borrego didn’t have to designate any player in Charlotte inactive Thursday.
▪ Hornets backup point guard Tony Parker reached double figures scoring for the fourth time in as many game appearances. He was inactive last Saturday for road game in Philadelphia.
They said it
“There’s not one guy that goes and stops Russell Westbrook. It’s a combination of guys, its building a wall, its multiple bodies against him.” – Borrego.
“I don’t think you go into a game necessarily trying to turn people over.” – Thunder coach Billy Donovan on his team leading the NBA in turnovers forced at 19.17.
“The ones we’ve got to limit are the silly fouls that are away from the basket, that are non-scoring fouls” – Donovan on the Thunder averaging an NBA-worst 27.5 fouls this season..
Report card
C OFFENSE: Will this game embolden other teams to focus all attention on Walker and dare any other Hornet to beat them?
B DEFENSE: Neutralized Paul George and didn’t give up a bunch of open 3-pointers.
C COACHING: They still aren’t winning the close ones.
THUNDER 111, HORNETS 107
Oklahoma City | Min | FG-A | FT-A | R | F | Pt |
George | 39:20 | 4-20 | 3-4 | 10 | 1 | 11 |
Grant | 24:46 | 3-7 | 3-4 | 6 | 2 | 10 |
Adams | 33:53 | 1-5 | 3-4 | 12 | 2 | 5 |
Ferguson | 17:38 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Westbrook | 37:08 | 12-24 | 5-7 | 8 | 3 | 29 |
Abrines | 30:16 | 9-15 | 2-2 | 2 | 4 | 25 |
Schroder | 30:16 | 7-15 | 5-8 | 3 | 3 | 21 |
Diallo | 10:46 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
Noel | 8:39 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
Patterson | 7:15 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 240:00 | 41-96 | 21-29 | 49 | 21 | 111 |
Percentages: FG .427, FT .724. 3-Point Goals: 8-37, .216 (Abrines 5-10, Schroder 2-6, Grant 1-3, Diallo 0-1, Ferguson 0-1, Patterson 0-3, Westbrook 0-3, George 0-10). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 10 (12 PTS). Blocked Shots: 9 (Adams 3, George 3, Grant 2, Noel). Turnovers: 10 (Westbrook 3, Adams 2, George 2, Schroder 2, Ferguson). Steals: 12 (George 4, Adams 3, Westbrook 3, Noel, Schroder). Technical Fouls: Westbrook, 3:49 first.
Charlotte | Min | FG-A | FT-A | R | F | Pt |
Batum | 35:39 | 4-8 | 0-0 | 7 | 4 | 10 |
Williams | 17:58 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Zeller | 27:14 | 2-4 | 1-2 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
Lamb | 25:05 | 5-12 | 2-2 | 9 | 1 | 13 |
Walker | 31:10 | 7-16 | 5-5 | 5 | 3 | 21 |
Kidd-Gilchrist | 24:49 | 3-10 | 3-3 | 9 | 3 | 9 |
Parker | 23:25 | 5-12 | 6-7 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
Monk | 23:00 | 7-15 | 3-3 | 0 | 3 | 21 |
Bridges | 19:21 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
Hernangomez | 12:18 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
Totals | 240:00 | 38-93 | 20-22 | 51 | 26 | 107 |
Percentages: FG .409, FT .909. 3-Point Goals: 11-41, .268 (Monk 4-12, Batum 2-4, Walker 2-8, Hernangomez 1-1, Parker 1-2, Lamb 1-7, Kidd-Gilchrist 0-2, Williams 0-2, Bridges 0-3). Team Rebounds: 13. Team Turnovers: 17 (21 PTS). Blocked Shots: 3 (Bridges, Hernangomez, Zeller). Turnovers: 17 (Batum 4, Monk 3, Zeller 3, Walker 2, Bridges, Hernangomez, Kidd-Gilchrist, Parker, Williams). Steals: 7 (Batum 2, Bridges, Kidd-Gilchrist, Lamb, Monk, Walker).
Oklahoma City | 24 | 20 | 29 | 38 | — | 111 |
Charlotte | 22 | 26 | 29 | 30 | — | 107 |
Att.—14,583 (19,077). T—2:16.
Officials—Zach Zarba, Brett Nansel, Matt Boland
Rick Bonnell: 704-358-5129, @rick_bonnell
This story was originally published November 1, 2018 at 9:41 PM with the headline "Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder rally past Charlotte Hornets 111-107."