Hornets 91, Thunder 89
David West’s jumper with 0.5 seconds left gave the host New Orleans Hornets their ninth straight win, a 91-89 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
Chris Paul had 24 points and nine assists and West scored eight of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the Hornets (30-16), who also stopped a four-game losing streak against the Thunder.
Paul’s steal of Nick Collison's pass with nine seconds left set the stage for West’s winning shot. He leaned into Serge Ibaka to create space and stepped back before launching the 18-footer.
The Thunder threw away the inbounds pass on their final possession.
New Orleans, which has the NBA's sbest defense in the NBA at 90.9 points per game, had allowed 59 and 72 points in its last two games against Atlanta and San Antonio, respectively. However, Oklahoma City raced to a 33-19 lead after one quarter and reached 59 with 5:24 left in the third period.
The Hornets outscored the Thunder, 31-12, in the second quarter as Oklahoma City missed its first six shots of the period.
Kevin Durant had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder (28-16) but was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting in the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, who had averaged 30 points in his last four games, finished with 18 and 10 assists. Jeff Green added 19 points and seven rebounds.