Things didn't start well and didn't end well for the Thunder but there are things to take away from the loss.
The Hawks had more energy than Thunder for about 21 minutes of the 24 first half minutes. They had built a 50-34 lead and looked to be on their way to rolling the Thunder before halftime.
Then the Thunder woke up.
The Thunder closed the half furiously, forcing turnovers and turning those into quick offense on the other end. They attacked the paint and got to the free throw line and by halftime OKC had cut the deficit to one, 53-52.
Much of the second half was back and forth and everyone knew it was going to come down to late game execution for the Thunder which has been under the microscope for some time now.
Well..to heck with late game execution let me introduce you to Russell Westbrook. 10 straight points from Westbrook gave the Thunder a 96-92 lead with 2 minutes remaining in the game.
But the Thunder could not generate stops down the stretch and for that matter they couldn't even force the Hawks to take a tough shot. Jeff Teague blew by Anthony Morrow and Andre Roberson on back to back possessions for uncontested layups.
On the other end the Thunder missed some shots and missed some opportunities. With so much attention on the offensive execution this game really came down to getting a stop when you need one and they were unable to do so.
The Hawks would finish the game on a 14-4 run and send the Thunder to their 7th loss in this young season 106-100.
This has been a reoccurring theme for Oklahoma City this year and must be fixed if the Thunder are going to get where they want to be.
The good news is it's a long season and the talent and coaching staff are in place for the Thunder to be a contender like they expect to be by the end of April which is all that matters.
Up Next: @ Miami (10-6) Thursday, December 3rd
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