Howard's 23 points lead Hornets past Thunder
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Charlotte Hornets finally won a road game. In a tough spot, too.
Dwight Howard scored 23 points to help the Charlotte Hornets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-103 on Monday night. It was Charlotte's first victory on the road since Oct. 30 at Memphis.
"There are two ways you can go when you have a slow start," Howard said. "You can either look down upon yourself and say, `I can't do it, it's too hard,' or you can look in the mirror and say `I want to get out of this.' That's how we are feeling. Together we can do something good."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kemba Walker had 19 points for the Hornets, who had lost seven of eight. Marvin Williams scored 18, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 17 points.
Russell Westbrook had 30 points and seven assists, and Paul George scored 20 points for the Thunder after missing the previous two games with a right calf contusion.
Charlotte shot 53 percent from the field against one of the league's best defensive teams. The Hornets made 13 of 25 3-point attempts while improving to 2-10 on the road.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We played together, we moved the ball, our defensive intensity was great and when we needed a big play, they came up with the big plays," interim coach Stephen Silas said.
The game was tied at 66 in the third quarter when Charlotte went on a run and never relinquished momentum. A 3-pointer by Williams made it 74-66, leading to a Thunder timeout.
Charlotte kept right on rolling. A 3-pointer by Frank Kaminsky put the Hornets up 86-68, and a layup by Kidd-Gilchrist made it a 20-point game. The Hornets made 7 of 10 3-pointers in the quarter to go up 92-74 at the end of the period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Oklahoma City cut the deficit to 11 on a dunk by Westbrook, but the Hornets quickly regained control for good.
"We just gave them little bonehead plays," Westbrook said. "Three-point, four-point plays. I think they had a 40-point quarter. We can't afford to do that."
TIP-INS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hornets: G Nicolas Batum sat out with a sore left elbow. … G Jeremy Lamb, who started his career with the Thunder in 2012, started for the Hornets. He finished with 14 points and five rebounds on 6-of-17 shooting. … The Hornets outrebounded the Thunder 41-39.
Thunder: Defensive stopper Andre Roberson sat out with a left ankle sprain. … Carmelo Anthony scored 11 points. He passed Vince Carter and moved into 22nd place in NBA history with 24,605 points. … Anthony was issued a technical foul in the second quarter for complaining too much to official Tony Brothers.
STAT LINES
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Thunder, who entered the night 29th out of 30 teams in free-throw percentage, made 24 of 25 at the line.
QUOTABLE
"We're not a team like them where they have a bunch of stars and you have guys who can just go win games for you," Silas said. "We have to do it as a group. Most of it, for us, is on the defensive end. We did that tonight, and hopefully, that'll carry on."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}UP NEXT
Hornets: Visit the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Thunder: Visit the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. It will be George's first game back in Indiana since he was traded for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in July.