Three Takeaways from Oklahoma City's Routing Over the Charlotte Hornets

The Oklahoma City Thunder was finally able to get out of its arduous January schedule on Friday, kicking off February with a relatively calm victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Still without an injured Jalen Williams and Isaiah Joe, Oklahoma City was able to take care of business even so – dismantling the Hornets (10-37) in LaMelo Ball's absence. 

The Thunder held entire control of the game from the tip, reaching out to a 20-point lead in the first, and did not stop from there until the fourth quarter clean-up unit regressed to an eventual 126-106 victory.

Now, with Wednesday's five-point edge over the Nuggets and Friday night's win, Oklahoma City sits at 34-15 to repossess the No. 1 spot in the West with Minnesota's loss to Orlando.

Here are three takeaways from the Thunder's routing of the Hornets:

As Good As it Gets Out of the Gate

Oklahoma City looked pristine out of the gate, reaching out to a swift nine-point lead just before halfway through the frame, ultimately extending its lead to 20 by the end of the quarter.

39 points from the Thunder nearly tied its season-high in the first frame on the season of 40, capitalizing off a strong defensive effort. In those 39 came 3-pointers from six – yes, six – different Thunder players. 

Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace, Lu Dort, Jaylin Williams, Ousmane Dieng and Aaron Wiggins all connected from range once in that lone quarter, with Wallace sinking two.

On top of that 3-point distribution, the strong effort defensively was of the best this season for Oklahoma City – keeping Charlotte to just 19 points in the game, knotting the least amount of points allowed in the first quarter this season.

This marks the third time the Thunder has managed to hold a team to just 19 points in the opening frame on the season, coincidentally coming two times in a row following its impressive defensive outing versus the Nuggets.

SGA's Pure First Half

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was excellent yet again across the board on Friday night, showcasing his typical scoring prowess, ability to get to the line and disruption as an on-ball defender to have probably his best singular half of basketball on the season.

In just the first half, the 6-foot-6 MVP candidate generated 19 points – on a mere two free throw attempts – while missing only a sole shot, and produced a tremendous five steals and three blocks in 18 minutes.

Gilgeous-Alexander would end with 31 points on just four missed shots and eight made free throws, adding nine assists for a near double-double.

He wouldn't add onto his stock total for the remainder of the contest.

A Scoring Type of Night

It was truly a scoring type of game for one of the best offenses in the league on Friday. 

A 20-point lead cultivated in the first frame – and nearly notching its first quarter scoring season-high as aforementioned – developed into an eventual 35-point advantage at the height of the Thunder's lead in the beginning of the final quarter.

Oklahoma City was paced by Gilgeous-Alexander's team-high 34 in scoring, while Holmgren backed him up with 16 on the night.

Alongside Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren, each of Dieng, Wallace and Wiggins followed suit with double-digit scoring performances.

And while the Thunder collapsed some throughout the fourth-quarter stretch, dropping to just an eventual 20-point win, 14 players scored at least two points on the night – as Keyontae Johnson was the lone Thunder who couldn't quite get his one shot attempt to go.

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