Thunder-Suns: Oklahoma City Loses Heartbreaker

Even though it was a frustrating game offensively, it looked like Oklahoma City was going to pull off another win with an outstanding defensive performance. 

In the fourth quarter, the Thunder were playing as good of defense as I've seen all year, but they made one too many mistakes in the final minute. Jason Richardson had a beautiful shot with .07 seconds left for Phoenix—and he shut out the hopes of a 10th consecutive win for the Thunder.

Although it sucks to lose this one, I love the defensive look the Thunder gave in a 3-4 court press, and it frustrated the Suns greatly. Hopefully, they come out with this look more often.

Notes and Observations

1. Kevin Durant reached 30 points for the 33rd time this season and scored 25 points for the 29th consecutive game.  High-five, KD.

2. The Suns looked timid starting off the game, with Goran Dragic probably being nervous about leading the offense.  That soon changed, sadly.

3. Jeff Green looks a lot more confident on offense—although he still is shooting the trey ball too often and needs to take it to the basket more.

4. In the first quarter, the Suns completely dominated the boards by a margin of 11-3.  It wasn't pretty for Thunder Country.

5. Maynor looked like a totally different player.  He shot 3-of-4 tonight and didn't look nearly as nervous.

6. Nick Collison is a charge monster.  He also does more dirty work than a janitor.  Am I kidding? No.

7. Sefalosha had a great defensive game, but I think he's getting too aggressive in certain situations—especially in passing lanes.

8. Congratulations to Grant Long, who broke the world record tonight for most times saying "fountain of youth" regarding Grant Hill's performance in one half.  Way to go, big guy.

9. Russell Westbrook has refused to score on breakaways recently.  Every time, he has done some nifty pass back to KD for an easy assist. 

10. Thabo Sefalosha has absolutely zero patience when the ball is in his hands in a fast break.

11. No joke would do enough justice for Robin Lopez's hair.

12. If you recorded the game, watch the defensive possession by the Thunder in the third quarter around 3:53.  It has to be the best defensive stand by any team in the league all season.

13. Dragic is going to be a legit player in the future.  He has a lot of potential.

14. Goodness, I wish we had Amare Stoudemire.

15. Hill had a fantastic game, going 8-for-11 for 21 points, including 3-of-4 from trey ball land.

16. If Green's monster dunk isn't a top 10 play on SportsCenter, I'm going to be upset.

Follow Casey on Twitter: @CaseyWomack