Thunder offense too much at times, Hornets fall again to the reigning champions

After a tough loss on Sunday evening in Charleston, the Charlotte Hornets were looking for revenge against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night in Oklahoma City.

The Hornets got off to a slow start, starting trailing 9-0 early. They immediately responded with a 9-0 run of their own, before a then 15-2 run from the Thunder. The entire night was just that, a game of runs.

Head Coach Charles Lee went 11 men deep in the first quarter, with Ryan Kalkbrenner being replaced in the first half rotation by Sion James. While James did not score, the 33rd overall pick showed flashes on the defensive side of the ball, recording a steal and block.

The Buzz saw an excellent first half from Collin Sexton, Tre Mann, LaMelo Ball, and Moussa Diabate. While Sexton, Mann, and Ball were all scoring at an extremely high level, Diabate, as usual, was doing the other things. His energy was felt on both sides of the court at all times, and the big man finished the night with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.

While Collin cooled down in the second half, a strong first quarter was something Hornets fans should begin to be excited about. The guard at one point had 12 straight points for the Hornets, accounting for 4 of their 7 made firgst quarter field goals.

The game was looking like a repeat of Sunday's blowout, as the Hornets trailed 20 with 8 minutes to go in the first half. They were playing poor, lazy defense, and Oklahoma City was getting anything they wanted on offense.

After the 8 minute mark, things turned around. The Hornets began to play near-perfect defense, and their offense began to feel the impact. The Hornets ended the first half on an 18-6 run with multiple three pointers made, which included ten straight points from Tre Mann.

While they cut the 20 point lead down to 2 in the second half, the Hornets allowed a run that brought the Thunder lead back to double digits. Furthermore, while the Thunder pulled almost all their starters after the first quarter, the Hornets played theirs deep into the third. It's the same group of Thunder players that blew out the Hornets regulars on Sunday, doing it again on Thursday.

Despite a fourth quarter run that cut the lead down to just one, the Thunder had a quick response, getting the lead up to six to close out a 122-116 victory.

To Note: No Spencer Dinwiddie or Pat Connaughton

Two of the most notable Hornets offseason additions, Pat Connaughton and Spencer Dinwiddie, were DNP-CDs in Thursday's defeat to the Thunder. The two played in Sunday's loss to OKC, albeit, played limited minutes.

While Connaughton's lack of minutes make sense, as the one-time NBA Champion is a likely cut candidate, Dinwiddie's lack of minutes are more questionable. He was one of two free agent signings the Hornets made, helping add depth to a guard room that desperately needed NBA-level players behind LaMelo Ball.

"Just an odd situation, very confusing. Couldn’t tell you why it’s like this," a source close to Dinwiddie said after the game. "It's confusing for a starting point guard who was averaging 12 and 6 on a Play-In team can't get minutes. He's been playing very well in practice."

The Hornets will go to Dallas to face the Mavericks on Saturday night for their next preseason game.

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