Fastbreak chances go thud

Some appropriate and alarming snapshots from the Bulls' loss to Oklahoma City were three 2-on-1 fastbreak opportunities.

Twice Larry Hughes had the ball, once it was Ben Gordon. All three times, Derrick Rose was open on the other side of the floor, but the ballhandler ignored Rose and ended up botching the play. Hughes missed a layup, Gordon was called for a charge, then Hughes had a shot blocked out of bounds.

"I haven't seen that before as much as I saw it tonight," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "That does concern me, because it's a pretty basic, easy basketball play. That will definitely be addressed."

Rose, who produced 6 of the Bulls' 16-assist total, didn't criticize his teammates.

"It's frustrating a little bit, but it's just the way the game played out," Rose said. "They thought that they had layups, so that's what they were trying to do."

Ex-coach returns: Oklahoma City assistant Ron Adams was in a familiar spot Saturday, on the court helping players warm up before a game at the United Center. He did that for the Bulls during the past five seasons.

After moving from the bench to a scouting role for the Bulls, Adams left the organization Dec. 30 to help bring some experience to the Oklahoma City staff. Scott Brooks took over as head coach when P.J. Carlesimo was fired Nov. 22.

"I had no idea about this situation," Adams said. "They called the Bulls for permission to talk, and I had virtually no heads-up on it."

Adams said he has been impressed by the Thunder's operation, but he offered some strong praise for his former employers.

"It's the best place I ever worked," Adams said of the Bulls. "I told Jerry (Reinsdorf) this, I think he's a wonderful owner. I loved working with (general manager) John Paxson. That relationship was great, and I loved working with (former head coach) Scott Skiles.

"I'd throw Scott up there against anybody in the coaching world. It was fun to work with him."

Missing from action: Thabo Sefolosha stayed home Saturday because of flu-like symptoms. - After three strong games in a row, Tyrus Thomas all but disappeared against the Thunder. In 26 minutes of action, Thomas produced 6 points and 2 rebounds. He did come up with 4 blocked shots, though.

Another short streak: Had the Bulls won Saturday, they would have recorded their first three-game winning streak in the regular season since April 10-15, 2007, when they beat New York, Charlotte and Washington. Of course, if the Bulls had made it a four-game streak by knocking off New Jersey two days later that season, they would have finished as the No. 2 playoff seed in the East instead of No. 5.