This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/hornets/onsi as Shai, Thunder spoil the Hornets' city edition debut night, soundly take down Buzz. On the second night of a back-to-back, the Charlotte Hornets were faced with their toughest opponent of the season: the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets may be without multiple key players in Saturday night's matchup.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and Chet Holmgren added 25 as the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder used a big third quarter to beat the Charlotte Hornets 109-96 for their fifth straight win.

After missing six consecutive games due to a back injury, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort 's status has been upgraded for Saturday's game against the Charlotte Hornets. The Thunder improved to 12-1 after two impressive wins against the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers at the Paycom Center.

Meanwhile, the Pelicans (2-11) are on the second night of a home back-to-back. They had a 124-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. Trey Murphy III scored 20 points. And that was about it in terms of positive takeaways.

Hornets head coach Charles Lee explains what led to his decision to bench LaMelo Ball in Friday's overtime loss to the Bucks.

A quick look into the reason why Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball won't play against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It's Thunder vs. Hornets on Saturday in the NBA. Here's how to watch, including time, channel, TV schedule and streaming info.