Last night wasn't really about a win or a loss against the reigning champ Oklahoma City Thunder. I'm not sure if there were many Hornets fans that really thought the Hornets would beat OKC on a back to back, and without Lamelo Ball.

Lamelo returned the night before in an overtime loss against the Milwaukee Bucks, where he did not play a single second of said overtime. That should have potentially been a clue that we wouldn't see Lamelo against the Thunder.

Last night was about consistency. It was continuing with the theme of what Charles Lee has clearly been preaching to this team which is learning how to win. Learning what you have to do night in, night out to achieve that against the NBA's best, which the Thunder is.

Even though Hornets fans are getting impatient with that approach, if you actually stop looking at the win-loss column  and start actually taking a look at what the Hornets are doing on the floor, you have to be encouraged.

Charlotte continued a trend, last night, where they are going blow for blow with some of the most elite teams in the NBA in the first half. It's not till the third quarter that things start to get away from the Hornets.

The Hornets were tied, 30-30, after the first quarter with Oklahoma City and after the first half, as they often do in games like this, led 55-52. The numbers tell the story.

Unfortunately for the Hornets, though, the third quarter bug struck again, as mentioned. The Thunder had a game high 32 points in the third, 15 of those coming from the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander, who finished with 33 points.

The other small takeaways from the night were continued consistency from Collin Sexton and both Ryan Kalkbrenner and Moussa Diabate at the center position.

Collin Sexton has been such a key piece of the Hornets remaining competitive in many of these games in Brandon Miller and Lamelo Ball's absence. It's when the Hornets are whole, with both Lamelo Ball and Brandon Miller on the floor, that you're going to see Charlotte win a lot of these games that they just don't have enough right now to win.

Ryan Kalkbrenner gave you a solid 13 points and 7 rebounds, while Moussa Diabate topped those numbers, coming off the bench, with a 13 point and 11 rebound double-double. 

The Hornets get today to rest before heading up north to face Brandon Ingram and the 8-5 Toronto Raptors.