Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 30 and Thunder with 5th straight, 141-106 over Hornets

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder won their fifth in a row, 141-106 over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s top scorer at 33.0 points per game, returned to the lineup after sitting out Wednesday night's lopsided win against Philadelphia. He made 13 of 18 shots to go with six rebounds and nine assists before sitting out the fourth quarter.

Chet Holmgren added 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks for Oklahoma City, which clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season when Milwaukee beat the Lakers on Thursday.

Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who played without injured starters Lu Dort and Jalen Williams. Oklahoma City led 66-49 at halftime after Kenrich Williams banked in a 29-foot shot at the buzzer, and 103-76 after three quarters.

Miles Bridges scored 20 points and Nick Smith Jr. added 14 for Charlotte, which played without injured starters LaMelo Ball (ankle) and Mark Williams (foot).

Ball and Williams combined for 44 points the night before in a win over the New York Knicks. The Hornets have lost six games by 30 or more points in the last month.

Hornets: Charlotte relied on the long ball to keep this one close until the third quarter, connecting on 19 of 41 from 3-point range (46.3%).

Thunder: Oklahoma City's depth helped the team surpass last season's win total and improve to 26-1 against the East.

Charlotte pulled within 75-65 on a 3-pointer by DaQuan Jeffries. Following a timeout, Oklahoma City responded with a 20-3 run to make it 95-68 with 3:37 left in the third.

Oklahoma City outscored the Hornets 64-26 in the paint.

The Hornets visit Miami on Sunday night, and the Thunder visit the Clippers the same day.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Charlotte Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic (11) tries to block a shot by Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 21, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Charlotte Hornets guard KJ Simpson, left, and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace, right, chase the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 21, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren, right, drives against Charlotte Hornets guard KJ Simpson, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 21, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) tries to score against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 21, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate, right, goes up for a dunk as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren, lower center, watches during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 21, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Charlotte Hornets guard Nick Smith Jr., right, drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center, as Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 21, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) looks to shoot over Charlotte Hornets guard Nick Smith Jr. (8) as Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, March 21, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 12, 2026--

Today, a leading global wedding technology platform The Knot Worldwide (TKWW), announced the appointment of Michael Pickrum as Chief Financial Officer. With more than 25 years of experience in strategic finance, operations, and business development within the media and technology industries, Pickrum will oversee TKWW’s global finance organization. Pickrum joins TKWW at an exciting moment as the company celebrates its 30-year anniversary and continues to grow and scale with a focus on product innovation.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260112910392/en/

Pickrum joins TKWW from Maximum Effort, the media, marketing, and investment company co-founded by Ryan Reynolds, where he served as Chief Financial Officer. Before this, he held the roles of COO and CFO at ExecOnline, Inc., a B2B online leadership development company. Pickrum spent over 17 years at BET/Viacom, where he served as EVP and CFO starting in 2007. Prior to that, he was COO of BET Interactive. He earned his master's and bachelor's degrees in engineering from Stanford University and his MBA from The Wharton School.

“I am thrilled to be joining TKWW at such an important time in the company’s journey,” said Michael Pickrum, CFO, TKWW. “There is incredible power in celebrations and I am looking forward to working with the exceptional team at TKWW to further enable our millions of couples and 900,000 small business owners around the world to celebrate life’s most meaningful moments.”

“Michael is a world-class financial and operations leader with an impressive track record of driving strategic growth and operational excellence across media and technology companies,” said Raina Moskowitz, CEO, TKWW. “As we continue to grow and scale with a focus on product innovation, Michael’s deep expertise in strategic planning, analysis, and capital allocation will be critical to our ongoing success. We are thrilled to have him join our team and help guide TKWW through our next phase of growth.”

Pickrum is based in New York, NY and reports to TKWW Chief Executive Officer Raina Moskowitz.

About The Knot Worldwide
Across North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia, The Knot Worldwide champions the power of celebration. The company’s global family of brands provides best-in-class products, services, and content to take celebration planning from inspiration to action. Through its wedding brands, including The Knot, WeddingWire, Bodas.net, Hitched.co.uk, Mariages.net, Matrimonio.com, and others, the company offers an extensive database of hundreds of thousands of wedding professionals to assist couples in organizing the happiest day of their lives. We have a brand for every kind of celebration—from booking a birthday party, to planning a wedding, to preparing to become a parent, and every moment in between.

Michael Pickrum, courtesy of The Knot Worldwide