Thunder grab 19 offensive rebounds and the 110-103 win at Charlotte.
1. MO WILLIAMS MAKES HORNETS DEBUT
It didn't take long for newly acquired point guard Mo Williams to make an impact for the Charlotte Hornets in his first game with the team.
Right from the outset, Williams displayed why he comes to the team as Charlotte's best shooter, draining three 3-pointers in the first half, the second of which gave him 1,000 made 3-pointers in his career.
Playing with a new team is nothing new for Williams, who's played with seven previous squads. That's why head coach Steve Clifford wasn't concerned about staring Williams right away.
"He is bright and he has been around," Clifford said. "The majority of our stuff, I feel like he can go out and play OK right away."
Williams finished with a team-high 24 points and game-high 12 assists, to go along with four rebounds as he looked comfortable on the floor from on the start.
"It's going to take some time to get on the same page as everybody, but already knowing Al (Jefferson) and Marvin (Williams) from Utah made the transition easier," Williams said. "Offensively, coach gave me a lot of freedom, so that made it real easy for me to go out and play how I play. Hopefully, every game I'll go continue to get better at that aspect, getting to know my teammates better and what they do more."
2. HORNETS STRUGGLE SECURING BOARDS
Charlotte (22-31) enters the second half of the season as the NBA's leading defensive rebounding team percentage wise, meaning the Hornets corral four out of five missed shots on the defensive end.
However, that wasn't the case Saturday night as the Thunder snagged 19 offensive rebounds, the most against Charlotte this season, which led to 20 second chance points.
There are two things the Hornets do very well -- play defense and rebound. Both were lacking Saturday as Oklahoma City grabbed 59 total rebounds, which is also a season high against Charlotte.
And in order for the Hornets to win they must do both.
"If we're going to play like that, we're not going to win," Clifford said. "If we're going to score 103, we've got to win. There was no physicality out there. We've got to play playoff-type basketball.
Starting power forward Cody Zeller said the reason for the breakdown was pretty simple.
"It was just effort," he said. "When we're right and playing well, we don't give up those (second chance) points."
3. WILL STEPHENSON FIND HIS GAME AFTER NOT BEING TRADED?
Over the All-Star break, rumors kept circulating that the Hornets were trying desperately to trade guard Lance Stephenson to Brooklyn for Brook Lopez. They wanted the trade so much that they even tried to sweeten the deal by offering Zeller.
But in the end, the Nets vetoed the trade and both players remained in Charlotte.
Now, the question is now that Stephenson knows that he's a Hornet through the remainder of the season, does it take some of the stress away and allow him to concentrate of improving his game?
"I never was thinking about (the trade rumors)," Stephenson told FoxSportsCarolinas.com. "I'm just trying to get adjusted to the team."
However, it would seem that after 53 games, if Stephenson was going to ever get "adjusted" with his teammates that it would've already happened.
On the season, Stephenson I shooting 36.7 percent from the field and 14.6 percent from 3-point range. Those are numbers a shooting guard can't have if he's going to stay in the league long term.
"I don't know what it is," Stephenson said. "I'm going to get with it. It's going to get going."
9 -- Number of consecutive games the Thunder have beaten Charlotte
43 -- Number of consecutive free throws Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook has made over the last four games
"It won't be tonight, tomorrow or even in Chicago. ... I think later in the week or next weekend, he'll be close to playing by then. He is a week or so away at the earliest, is what I would say," said Clifford on when reserve center Bismack Biyombo will return from a bone bruise on his right knee.
Follow Brett Jensen on Twitter @Brett_Jensen
