Aaron Wiggins scored a season-high 26 points and Josh Giddey had a triple-double as the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder beat the host Charlotte Hornets 121-118 on Sunday.
The win snapped the Thunder’s season-long three-game losing streak.
The Hornets (19-59) have lost 10 of their past 12.
Charlotte was leading 113-112 before Isaiah Joe came up with a pair of key shots. He first drained a 3-pointer after a Wiggins steal to make it 115-113 with 1:28 left in the game, then, after Vasilije Micic’s driving layup tied it, Joe gave Oklahoma City the lead for good with another trey with 54.6 seconds to go.
“We gave up the fast-break 3-pointer off the turnover, which obviously you can’t do late,” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford afterwards. “I think we gave up nine points on offensive rebounds in the last, like, seven-and-a-half minutes of the game. I thought that we had better defensive possessions particularly in the third quarter, but we got some stops there in the fourth. We’ve got to get the ball… which to me, that’s the game.”
Wiggins finished with a career-high six steals and tied his season high with five assists.
Giddey finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his third triple-double of the campaign. Chet Holmgren added 20 points and 10 boards.
The Thunder (53-25) shot 51.7 percent from the field, while Charlotte shot 54.2 percent.
Oklahoma City was without its two leading scorers, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams both sat out.
Gilgeous-Alexander missed his fourth consecutive game due to a right quad contusion. He has now missed six of the past seven games. Williams missed his fourth straight contest with a left ankle sprain.
Oklahoma City was also without Gordon Hayward, who was traded from Charlotte on Feb. 8. Hayward was dealing with a posterior tibialis strain.
Hayward, who spent the past three-plus seasons with the Hornets, was honored with a video tribute before the game.
Charlotte trailed most of the game, taking its first lead, 106-105, on Nick Richards’ alley-oop finish off a feed from Micic with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
All eight players who saw the floor for the Hornets scored in double figures, with Grant Williams leading the way with 19 points.
Micic, who was acquired in the trade that sent Hayward to Oklahoma City, had 17 points and 10 assists.
Holmgren had 14 points and Giddey had 12 to lift the Thunder to a 65-55 edge at the break.