CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When a team shoots 49 free throws, it has a good chance of winning.

That's precisely what the Charlotte Hornets did on Wednesday night, and the result was a 123-112 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Spectrum Center.

The Hornets had five fewer field goals than the Thunder, but hit 21 more free throws, going a whopping 40 of 49 from the line. The Thunder got to the line only 23 times, making 19.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford praised his team afterward for their relentlessness in getting to the basket and drawing contact, something he noted has been happening a lot lately.

"We drive the ball hard," Clifford said. "We've been getting to the line pretty much all year. We're top six in free-throw attempts, it's one of our biggest strengths. We're number one in not fouling, and we've been getting to the line. Driving the ball, getting the ball going into the paint. Obviously, that was the biggest factor in the game."

The Hornets also did a superb job of defending OKC's Russell Westbrook. Westbrook finished with 33 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, but he was just 10 of 31 from the field and 2 of 12 from 3-point range. Westbrook missed 10 of his first 12 shots and was clearly frustrated from early in the game, receiving a technical foul in the first quarter.

Clifford gave credit to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in particular for his work against Westbrook, but also felt it was a total team effort.

"I thought Mike played with great discipline, and I thought our guys off the ball were smart," Clifford said.

The win gave the Hornets (20-16) their first win over the Thunder since 2010, a streak that covered 11 games.

Nicolas Batum led the Hornets with 28 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter. He was just 7 of 18 from the field but 13 of 15 from the line. He hit a driving layup and a 3-pointer in a 9-0 run that pushed a 105-104 Charlotte lead to 114-104 with 1:19 remaining.

Kemba Walker added 20 points for the Hornets. Frank Kaminsky scored 17, all in the first half, and Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting from the field.

The Hornets' 123 points were a season high.

"We were aggressive," Batum said. "We tried to be aggressive on offense because we know they have some bigs inside we tried to get into an be aggressive. That's it. We made plays, especially on offense. You know, we tried to contain Westbrook. It's not easy but MKG did a great job on him tonight. He still got his numbers but MKG did a great job on him and we made plays at the end."

The Thunder (21-15) lost their second straight.

They led 88-87 going into the fourth quarter but were outscored 36-24 in the final period. They watched the Hornets hit 18 of 20 free throws in the fourth quarter, while going 5 of 5 themselves.

"We fouled too much," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "It was probably a little bit uncharacteristic for our team to send someone to the free throw line 49 times and us only get there 23. That was really, really hard to overcome."

Westbrook was tagged with his technical foul with 3:13 remaining in the first quarter and the score tied 16-16. After the Thunder called time out, Westbrook threw the ball to referee Tre Maddox as he was walking to the bench. But Maddox wasn't looking and the ball hit Maddox in the head. Referee Brent Barnaky called the technical at that point, drawing the ire of Thunder players and coaches.

"I called his (Maddox) name, he turned right at me and then he looked away," Westbrook said. "I don't know what to tell you, I really don't. I'm not the type of guy -- I would never, ever disrespect the game in that way, throw the ball at a referee. I've never done it before. That's just not even heard of in our game today. If you do that you get kicked out of the game. That's not allowed and I would never do such a thing. To get a tech is crazy to me."

NOTES: Hornets C Cody Zeller remained in the NBA's concussion protocol, but G Marco Belinelli returned after missing the previous five games with a sprained ankle. ... The Hornets are now 7-2 on the first night of a back-to-back. ... With 33 points, Thunder G Russell Westbrook eclipsed the 30-point mark for the 22nd time this season. ... The Hornets waived G Aaron Harrison on Tuesday but do not plan to replace him on the roster. ... The Thunder were playing the second game of a three-game road trip. The trip started with a 98-94 loss at Milwaukee on Monday and will close out at Houston on Thursday. ... The Hornets were coming off a 118-111 loss at Chicago on Monday. ... The Hornets will open a five-game road trip on Thursday at Detroit. They'll also play at San Antonio, Houston, Philadelphia and Boston on the trip. ... The Thunder and Hornets will play one more time, at Oklahoma City on April 2.