Heading into halftime, the Thunder had momentum. A 10-2 burst fueled by back-to-back three-pointers and a steal and slam from Russell Westbrook to Victor Oladipo. Typically, at home at Chesapeake Energy Arena, that energy would carry over to the second half.
Not Sunday afternoon. The playoff-chasing Charlotte Hornets wouldn’t allow it, and effectively slammed the door on the Thunder with a 13-0 run to start the third quarter en route to a 113-101 Oklahoma City loss.
“That was a critical point in the game,” Oladipo said.
During that rough stretch, the Thunder personified its most pressing issue throughout the afternoon – turnovers.