Halftime Report
The Thunder are on the road but looking no worse for wear. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead the Hornets 81-64.
The Thunder entered the game having won four straight and they’re just two quarters away from another. Will they make it five, or will the Hornets step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Charlotte Hornets
Current Records: Oklahoma City 24-5, Charlotte 7-23
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, December 28, 2024 at 6 p.m. ET
- Where: Spectrum Center — Charlotte, North Carolina
- TV: NBATV
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $34.00
What to Know
The Hornets will be in front of their home fans on Saturday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They and the Oklahoma City Thunder will round out the year against one another at 6:00 p.m. ET at at Spectrum Center. The Hornets are staggering into the match hobbled by six consecutive losses, while the Thunder will skip in buoyed by four consecutive wins.
The experts predicted the Hornets would be headed in after a victory, but the Wizards made sure that didn’t happen. The Hornets fell just short of the Wizards by a score of 113-110 on Thursday. The close contest was extra heartbreaking for Charlotte, who almost overcame a 21 point deficit.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Miles Bridges, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 14 rebounds. What’s more, he also posted a 44.4% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest he’s posted since back in November.
Even though they lost, the Hornets were working as a unit and finished the game with 31 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as the Wizards only posted 25.
Meanwhile, the Thunder hadn’t done well against the Pacers recently (they were 2-8 in their previous ten matchups), but they didn’t let the past get in their way on Thursday. The Thunder managed a 120-114 win over the Pacers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was his usual excellent self, going 15 for 22 en route to 45 points plus eight assists and seven rebounds. His evening made it 19 games in a row in which he has scored at least 30 points.
Charlotte’s defeat dropped their record down to 7-23. As for Oklahoma City, they are on a roll lately: they’ve won 13 of their last 14 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 24-5 record this season.
While only the Thunder took care of their fans the last time they played, neither team managed to cover. Going forward, the Thunder shouldn’t be too worried about this matchup, as the experts have them favored by 12 points. This contest will be their 22nd straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 13-8 against the spread).
The Hornets couldn’t quite finish off the Thunder when the teams last played back in April and fell 121-118. Can the Hornets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll find out soon enough.
Odds
Oklahoma City is a big 12-point favorite against Charlotte, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Thunder as a 11-point favorite.
The over/under is 219.5 points.
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Series History
Charlotte and Oklahoma City both have 5 wins in their last 10 games.
- Apr 07, 2024 – Oklahoma City 121 vs. Charlotte 118
- Feb 02, 2024 – Oklahoma City 126 vs. Charlotte 106
- Mar 28, 2023 – Charlotte 137 vs. Oklahoma City 134
- Dec 29, 2022 – Charlotte 121 vs. Oklahoma City 113
- Mar 14, 2022 – Charlotte 134 vs. Oklahoma City 116
- Jan 21, 2022 – Charlotte 121 vs. Oklahoma City 98
- Apr 07, 2021 – Charlotte 113 vs. Oklahoma City 102
- Dec 26, 2020 – Oklahoma City 109 vs. Charlotte 107
- Dec 27, 2019 – Oklahoma City 104 vs. Charlotte 102
- Nov 23, 2018 – Oklahoma City 109 vs. Charlotte 104
