Charlotte Hornets @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Monday, January 5, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK | Game ID: 22500506
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
OKC 33 17 21 26 97CHA 33 34 32 25 124
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
NBA-leading Thunder humbled in 124-97 home loss to struggling Hornets
OKLAHOMA CITY -- — Brandon Miller scored 28 points and the Charlotte Hornets stunned the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder 124-97 on Monday night.
Kon Knueppel added 23 points for the Hornets, who had lost three of four before handing Oklahoma City its worst loss of the season. It was a season-low point total for the Thunder and the only time they have failed to score 100 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points for his 108th straight game with at least 20, the second-longest streak in NBA history. He made just 7 of 21 field goals, and while he's known for sitting out fourth quarters because the Thunder are far ahead, he sat out the fourth this time because they were so far behind.
It was Oklahoma City's second straight loss and second home defeat of the season. The defending NBA champions started 24-1 but now are 30-7.
Charlotte ran out to an early 21-9 lead, but the Thunder, led by Ajay Mitchell 's 10 points off the bench, tied the game at 33 by the end of the first period.
Charlotte regained momentum in the second and went up 67-50 at halftime. Miller scored 19 points before the break. Oklahoma City made just 8 of 15 free throws in the first half. Gilgeous-Alexander, the league's No. 2 scorer, was held to nine points on 3-for-12 shooting through two quarters.
Early in the third quarter, Charlotte's LaMelo Ball caught a ball that was heading out of bounds, then made a circus shot from the corner with a foot on the 3-point line while standing on one leg to push Charlotte's lead to 74-55.
Miller's 3-pointer as time expired in the third extended Charlotte's lead to 99-71, and the Hornets remained in control from there.
Up next Hornets: Host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
OKCAM A. Mitchell
AW A. Wiggins
BC B. Carlson
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
CY C. Youngblood
IJ I. Joe
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
KW K. Williams
LD L. Dort
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
CHABM B. Miller
CS C. Sexton
CO Connaughton
DI Diabate
JG J. Green
KK K. Knueppel
LB L. Ball
LM L. McNeeley
MB M. Bridges
MD M. Diabaté
PH P. Hall
SJ S. James
TM T. Mann
TS T. Salaün
OKC/CHA the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur