Buzzer-beater loss tops Sonics' list of frustration

ORLANDO, Fla. — This one hurt.

The other last-minute defeats were painful and the Sonics died a little bit after each of them, but at least they took solace that they were undone by their mistakes and flaws that could be corrected.

This time, the Sonics were nearly perfect down the stretch. They erased a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes and executed a would-be game-winning play in the final six seconds.

And yet, they lost again. This time falling 88-87 to Orlando in front of 16,312 at TD Waterhouse Centre after Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu sank an improbable, off-balance 22-foot jump shot over Rashard Lewis with less than a second remaining.

This time, in their best defensive performance of the season, the Sonics were the ones attempting the fourth-quarter comeback, forcing a slew of miscues and knocking down clutch three-pointers until the final second when their string of bad luck took over once again.

"We're very unlucky right now," Lewis said of his 1-4 Sonics. "Every game we lost, we haven't been blown out. Every game was a close game and a lot of those were controlled by us and I think we gave some of those games away.

"Tonight, we had the game, but they hit a desperation shot and it went in."

Said Turkoglu: "It was just a lucky shot. ... I don't practice that one. I'm just happy to make it."

When Turkoglu received the ball near the sideline with 3.7 seconds left, Lewis believed he had Turkoglu exactly where he wanted him. For a split second, Turkoglu lost control of the ball as he turned left and dribbled twice to the corner.

"In that situation, a fadeaway jumper is what you're hoping for," said Luke Ridnour, who finished with 10 points and six assists.

And that's exactly what the Sonics got as Turkoglu leapt and let fly a rainbow jumper near the three-point line over Lewis' outstretched right hand.

As the ball neared the rim, the Sonics believed they'd avoided disaster "because it looked like it was floating to the left," Earl Watson said.

But then again, after enduring three narrow defeats in the past week in which the Sonics have led in the final five minutes, it seemed as if Turkoglu's shot was destined to splash through the net.

"I feel frustrated, certainly," coach Bob Hill said. "I feel a little snakebitten."

Before Turkoglu's prayer, Lewis, who scored 16 points, looked as if he would be the hero for the night after scoring a layup that capped a 10-0 run in final 3:10 and gave Seattle an 87-86 lead with 5.7 seconds left.

The play was brilliantly executed. Lewis came off a Nick Collison screen, which lost Turkoglu, and ran beneath the rim where he caught an alley-oop pass from Ridnour over Orlando's Dwight Howard. Unable to finish at the rim, Lewis recovered and powered in a layup.

"We're going to win one sooner or later." Hill said. "We just have to keep playing."

For all of their talk about being improved after a series of trades and a coaching change last season, the Sonics' record is identical to last year's 1-4 mark.

A year ago, the Sonics lost by margins of 41, 27, 25 and eight. This year, they've lost by six, four, three and one.

"We feel like we got a good team," Lewis said. "We feel like we're a playoff-contending team. We're not looking like it right now because we're 1-4, but we know what kind of talent we got in this room. But at the same time, we've got to show it."

The Sonics squandered a 12-point lead with 5:47 remaining in the third and allowed Orlando (2-2) to end the quarter with a 16-4 run that tied the score at 67.

"Good teams take control right there and blow them out so that it's not close," Danny Fortson said. "Because we all know how we've been doing late in games."

It's as if the Sonics have developed a Pavlovian response to fourth quarters, which has been a time of dread for them this season. When the period begins, they seem as if they expect bad things to happen to them.

Even when Orlando committed 27 turnovers, an NBA high this season, the Sonics did their best to give the game away and committed 22 turnovers.

"When you forced 27 turnovers for [37 points], you should win," said Ray Allen, who scored a game-high 21. "We're not taking advantage of those types of opportunities. ... You let teams hang around long enough and things like this happen."

The result stunned the Sonics into silence, and each of them wore a look of disbelief that's becoming common in the season's early going.

"The locker room was dead silent for 10 minutes," Watson said. "Nobody knew what to say because really, what can you say anymore."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com