On January 6 (Beijing time), the Thunder were blown out by the Hornets, suffering their second two-game losing streak of the season. It was also the first time this year they lost back-to-back games to two different opponents. The loss dropped them to 30–7, their seventh defeat of the season—making any talk of chasing 73 wins basically unrealistic, and even 70 wins significantly harder.
After previously losing on a Devin Booker game-winning three, Oklahoma City had already taken its sixth loss. Through 36 games they had six defeats, whereas the 73-win Warriors didn’t pick up their sixth loss until game 61. By that benchmark, OKC’s 73-win pace is essentially gone.
The first quarter was a track meet—neither team could get stops, ending 33–33. The game flipped in the second quarter, when Charlotte opened with a 29–11 surge to stretch the lead to 18. During that stretch, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) struggled to find rhythm and missed repeatedly.
At halftime, SGA was 3-for-12 (1-for-3 from three) with 9 points and 6 assists, plus 2 turnovers. Notably, he didn’t get to the line much—only two free throws, which removed one of his biggest scoring sources. Chet Holmgren had 11 at the half, Jalen Williams was 3-for-8 for 8 points, so OKC’s core pieces were quiet. Meanwhile, Brandon Miller went 7-for-9 for 19 points before the break.
After halftime, the game still felt out of reach, and OKC leaned on SGA to keep the offense afloat. He scored 12 in the third (4-for-9), reaching 21 points, 6 assists, 2 turnovers—but on poor efficiency: roughly 33.3% from the field and 17.6% from three. His 20+ streak may have continued, but it wasn’t a strong night overall.
In the fourth, coach Mark Daigneault effectively waved the white flag, giving extended minutes to the second unit (Wiggins, Mitchell, Joe, etc.). Charlotte had multiple players over 20 points, spread the scoring around, and the result was never in doubt. For a team sitting atop the league, getting handled like this by the East’s 12th seed looked especially ugly.
OKC’s previous losing streak came on Dec 24 and Dec 26 (both losses to the Spurs). This time it was Jan 5 and Jan 6, losses to the Suns and Hornets—with the Hornets loss standing out as the most embarrassing given Charlotte isn’t even in the play-in picture.
