The Charlotte Hornets on Monday thrashed the NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder 124-97, as Eastern Conference leaders Detroit delivered a statement win over the New York Knicks.
The struggling Hornets, 12th in the Eastern Conference, dominated in Oklahoma City, where the league-leading Thunder suffered just their seventh loss of the season, but their second in a row after a setback against Phoenix on Sunday.
Brandon Miller scored 28 points, and Kon Knueppel added 23 for the Hornets, who grabbed 52 rebounds to the Thunder’s 33 and held a 23-13 edge in second-chance points.
Photo: Reuters
Even 20 Hornets turnovers, leading to 26 Thunder points, could not help Oklahoma City, who never led after the opening minutes and connected on just 36.6 percent of their shots from the field.
NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points to lead five Thunder players in double figures, but Oklahoma’s streak of 24 victories against Eastern Conference foes came to an end.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Oklahoma City would not panic after dropping six of 12 games since their blazing 24-1 start to the season.
“We’ll evaluate it as we do every game, learn from it and then we’ll turn the page and try to be a better team,” he said after the Thunder were held below 100 points for the first time this season.
In Detroit, Cade Cunningham scored 29 points and handed out 13 assists to propel the Pistons to a 121-90 victory over the Knicks in a duel of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
Detroit improved to 27-9 and stretched their lead atop the East to four games over the Boston Celtics — who overtook the Knicks for second spot in the conference with a 115-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Javonte Green added 17 points off the bench for Detroit, and Jaden Ivey chipped in 16 for a Pistons team without injured starters Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 25 points, but he had precious little scoring support. Miles McBride added 17 off the bench, and Mikal Bridges scored 10, but Karl-Anthony Towns scored just six points on one-of-four shooting, and Ogugua Anunoby made just one of three shots on the way to five points.
“Obviously we knew there was a little extra to this game,” Cunningham said of the first meeting between the teams since the Knicks eliminated the Pistons in the first round of last season’s playoffs.
“But [we’re] just trying to continue what we’ve been doing all year and trying to keep our momentum.”
Brunson kept the Knicks in touch early with 12 points in the first quarter, and New York trailed by just one point after a strong finish to a tight first frame.
However, nine Knicks turnovers in the second quarter helped the Pistons push their lead to 64-54 at half-time.
Cunningham’s 15 third-quarter points matched the Knicks’ total for the period — New York’s lowest scoring quarter of the season leaving the Pistons firmly in control.
Knicks coach Mike Brown said New York did not match the physicality of the Pistons.
“It’s pretty simple,” he said. “They just physically kicked our ass. There’s no ifs and buts about it.”
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