15-3 -- The margin Seattle was down early as the started slowly and fell behind in the first half. Seattle was 1-of-9 from the floor early in the first quarter.

29 -- The amount of points New Orleans’ Chris Paul scored in the game. He also had 10 assists, leading his team to a 91-88 win.

33.3 -- The shooting percentage from the floor that the Sonics held the Hornets to in the third quarter as they fought their way back. Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said it was perhaps Seattle’s best defensive quarter of the year.

13-- Seattle’s rebound advantage (56-43), as the Sonics big men continue their strong play inside.

14 -- The Hornets’ scoring advantage in the paint (42-28).

Boxscore -- Check it out here.

Durant watch -- Durant finished with a team-high 23 points on 7-of-22 shooting. He also shot 7-of-8 from the free throw line and was more aggressive getting to the basket in the second half.

Did you see that? -- With Seattle nipping at New Orleans’ heels Chris Paul buried an off-balance 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to put his team back ahead 80-78. The Hornets would never trail again.

Overheard -- "Don’t give him that shot!," A New Orleans Hornet’s fan screamed as Durant calmly drained a 3-pointer to pull Seattle back within one point late in the game. It was a same fan that was heckling during throughout the game, saying he was overrated.

Final take -- Seattle lost this game by coming out slow in the first quarter and getting down by double digits.

You have to give them credit for bouncing back in the third quarter, only trailing by two points, 67-65 at the end of the third quarter. But the Sonics should have never been in that position, particularly with New Orleans’ shorthanded with starters Peja Stojakovic (strained groin) and Morris Peterson (lower back) out with injuries.

“We were lucky to be where we were,” Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo said about his team’s first half performance. “We were terrible. Our defense was a disgrace. .. I don’t know where we were. Our heads just weren’t in the game and we weren’t ready to play.”

Losing Kurt Thomas in the fourth quarter also hurt. Thomas cut the inside of his lip trying to strip Jannero Pargo from behind, and had to leave the game to get three stitches. He had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

“I think that was just my fault for reaching in there, and I should have just contained him,” Thomas said about play. “So I can’t be mad at anyone but myself.

“That’s the only thing I’m upset about is I couldn’t finish it out. I’m fortunate enough that I was able to stay aggressive, stay on the boards. And I was able to get a couple easy put backs. But I wish I was able to play there down the stretch.”

Down one point with seven seconds left, Seattle had a chance to win the game, but Nick Collison turned the ball over trying to advance the ball to Durant at mid court, who caught the ball out of bounds.

Seattle had no time out left, so Collison and the rest of the Sonics were put in a tough situation when Jannero Pargo missed both free throws.

Luke Ridnour also played for the first time since suffering a partially torn left quad at Orlando Nov. 13. Ridnour finished with three points and an assist in 12 minutes.

"I’ve still got some soreness," Ridnour said. “But just to be able to test it, it felt good.”

Listen to Carlesimo talk about the game here. And Wally Szczerbiak, who finished with 14 points off of the bench, talks about the game here.