As the red lights lit up on the backboard, Chris Paul’s shot fell through the net, logging the last points of the game.
The shot didn’t have a chance to tie the game. Paul knew that when he took it, but he threw up a running 3-pointer anyway. The Thunder lost to the Bucks 121-119 Sunday, battling to the final buzzer.
That kind of consistency had been missing in the Thunder’s previous two contests. OKC had started a pattern, coming out of halftime unprepared to match the opposing team’s energy. Reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo presented the Thunder with perhaps the starkest example of intensity out of halftime Sunday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.