There's a moment in the first half of all blowouts where the fan says, "My team sucks tonight."
There's a moment in most parts of the second half of that blowout where the fan says, "This game is over."
And there's a moment in some blowouts where the fan just wants to stop crying. This was that moment in the Bulls getting manhandled by the Thunder on Sunday afternoon:
Russell Westbrook assassinating whatever residue of dignity Omer Asik had stored up for a rainy day was just a moment, but a reflection of Sunday's nationally televised embarrassment.
The Bulls out-rebounded OKC 48-40 and scored 17 second-chance points and kept the Thunder to only 17 free throw attempts. Usually, a good formula for success, other than taking 18 offensive boards to get there on an abysmal 5-for-17 shooting in those mulligan opportunities and only scoring 20 points in the paint to get to the line for only 15 FTAs, while shooting 33.3% from the floor.
The Bulls managed to also brick 16-of-24 3-point attempts for a very non-deceptive .374 eFG% on the day. The Thunder scored about 42% of their buckets in the paint while the Bulls only converted ten of their 28 attempts.
John Lucas III was about as out of control as he could be. Sure, he scored a team-high 19, but on 7-for-20 shooting (5-for-13 on 3s) in almost 29 minutes. He exhausted the dribble so much, stifled by OKC's traps, that he couldn't see passing lanes and could barely jump when he shot.
If there was a bright spot, it was Luol Deng on defense, but that was coupled with a 4-for-13 shooting disaster, bricking all three 3s, and grabbing zero rebounds, along with logging goose eggs in the assists and steals columns to go with a turnover. And the defensive effort was wasted, as Kevin Durant (26 points on 11-for-16, ten rebounds, four assists) was still unstoppable, while almost yawning.
Carlos Boozer followed up another high-powered first quarter with a magical disappearing act for the remainder of the game. Joakim Noah was there, but only existentially.
This is how the team with the best record in the NBA loses by 14 on the road to the team with the second-best record.
Sorry, I'm done talking about this game. I'll raise a glass for an awesome display of defensive footwork by OKC and just beg the Bulls to bring on something worth watching against the Rockets tomorrow night at the United Center.