OKC suffers a 122-98 loss to the Charlotte Hornets

The Oklahoma City Thunder were defeated (14-31) 121-98 by the Charlotte Hornets (26-20) on Friday night.

The Thunder started off the game down 19-13 to the Hornets in the first quarter. Charlotte then advanced its lead over Oklahoma City to eight points following a missed driving layup from point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 2:27 remaining in the quarter. After that the Hornets finished with a 37-20 lead going into the second quarter.

The Hornets’ did not release the gas pedal in the second, however. Leading by nearly 20 points — the biggest margin of the game, at that point — Charlotte was taking advantage of OKC’s lackluster defense. At the end of the quarter, the Thunder managed to gather a 5-0 run with just 27.9 remaining to bring the lead back down to 17 points by halftime.

In the third quarter Oklahoma City managed to bring the lead down to 11 points. Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 29 points on a 10-for-23 total, scored only two points in the quarter. Despite a come-from-behind effort, the Hornets brought their lead back to 18 points going into the final quarter.

In the fourth, Oklahoma City was outscored 28-23 en route to its 121-98 loss. The Thunder’s next game will be against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. CT in Cleveland.