Late Comeback Snaps Thunder's Winning Streak

Originally Published: Feb 23, 2010 9:59 PM CDT

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Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY – Jason Richardson hit a running floater with less than one second left to hand Oklahoma City a 104-102 loss and snap the Thunder’s nine-game winning streak Tuesday.

The Thunder (33-22) led by five points with less than 70 seconds left in the game, but Richardson’s shot capped a 7-0 run to finish the game. Oklahoma City did not make a field goal in the game’s final five minutes.

The Suns’ run spoiled a dominant start to the quarter by the OKC defense. After entering the fourth down by four, the Thunder held Phoenix (35-23) to only six points in the first six minutes of the quarter. The Thunder started the quarter on a 20-6 run and held a 10-point lead, but the Suns would not go away.

Richardson, Grant Hill and Amar’e Stoudamire led the Suns – who were playing without Steve Nash and Leandro Barbosa – all night, combining to score 71 points. They also sparked the late-game comeback, scoring all of Phoenix’s final 13 points.

The game’s thrilling fourth quarter came after an even more topsy-turvy third quarter. OKC led by one at halftime, but the Suns made their first four 3-pointers of the second half and went on a big run to build a lead of as much as 15 points.

After Oklahoma City stormed back, the Suns built another double-digit lead; but once again, the Thunder fought back and cut the lead to four going into the final period.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 36 points, recording his 29th consecutive game with 25 points or more. He is now 11 games shy of tying Michael Jordan’s NBA record.

Russell Westbrook added his third consecutive double-double with 21 points and 10 assists. Jeff Green scored 16, but shot just 5-of-14 from the field. He also missed all three of his 3-point attempts, and the Thunder as a team went 4-of-16 from beyond the arc.

The loss marks Oklahoma City’s first of February. Its last defeat came on Jan. 27 to Chicago, and the Thunder will have to turn things around quickly. It faces the San Antonio Spurs 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.