No one is about to suggest the Thunder have had any good luck this season.
They haven't. This is a team that still may challenge for a championship, but it's also a team that hasn't had many breaks all season.
More than a fistful of last-second blunders for Thunder, including losses to Portland twice, New Orleans, the Pistons. Add the Bulls to the list now, too, after Thursday's 108-105 loss. Combine it all with injuries that have crippled their spot in the standings the Thunder have had a "Why-is-this-happeing-to-us kind of season."
No lucky accidents at all for OKC, so instead of wondering why the Thunder can't catch a break, they need to start worrying about how they create their own.
Oklahoma City lost to Chicago, but lost their way before the final score was official.
This is a team balancing on the edge of making the playoffs and it is running out time to make up for mistakes, bad breaks and unfortunate bounces. But instead of putting out those fires, the Thunder added to them against the Bulls.
The Thunder gave away a 16-point lead. Russell Westbrook put up more resume building numbers but had some trust issues and then a defensive mistake. The Thunder once again had trouble with a late-game, in-bounds situation.
You do those kinds of things, you box yourself out of the, "We can't catch a break" argument. You don't help out Westbrook, who can't go on forever playing like Oscar Robertson, you got problems too hard to overcome.
Instead of taking some of Westbrook's burden he so very much wants to shoulder on his own, the only starter who was engaged was Serge Ibaka and the only bench player who earned his keep was D.J. Augustin. There was little help given.
Meanwhile, Westbrook failed to get his fifth-consecutive triple-double, but did have 43 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. That's more than enough to erase mistakes, but his inability to pass to a wide-open Ibaka in the closing moments, instead taking and missing a jumper when the Thunder were protecting a slim lead, wasn't.
When Westbrook left E'Twaun Moore enough space for the go-ahead 3-pointer with just seconds remaining, there was still some faint chance of a victory. But when Westbrook stepped out of bounds on the Thunder's last possession with less than 1 second to play, thanks to a poor in-bounds pass from Dion Waiters, it wasn't a bad break, it was bad basketball.
While all of the bad luck that's happened this season couldn't have been avoided, all of the late-game mistakes Thursday could have.
This wasn't about injuries or Kevin Durant's foot or Westbrook's mask. There's no reason to bring up any of that stuff. Not tonight. Not after how the Thunder took a win and turned into a loss.
No excuses allowed when all the answers are right there in front of you.
Follow Andrew Gilman on Twitter: @andrewgilmanOK
