Friday, January 21, 2005
GAME 38: TIMBERWOLVES 112, SUPERSONICS 107
Timberwolves 112, SuperSonics 107
(final content posted 11p)
Here's what I have for tonight's tilt. Postgame thoughts will eventually be placed below the in-game action.
1st qtr
10:02 Ridnour coast-to-coast layup SEA 4-2. 8:02 Allen baseline drive hacked, hits both TIE 6-6. 7:28 Ridnour baseline long jumper SEA 8-6. 6:01 Evans cleans up missed Allen layup SEA 12-8. 3:53 Garnett stuffs Evans, then runs the floor for a fastbreak layup. 3:39 Allen fouled on a driving jump-stop, hits both SEA 14-10. 2:13 Collison jam in transition after Szczberbiak trips running downcourt SEA 18-17.
After one quarter -- Minnesota 25, Seattle 18
The most disturbing thing about the first quarter was how badly the Sonics got drilled on the glass. The broadcast has the Sonics being outrebounded 14-7, while SportsLine has 16-7. The thing is, it's not just Kevin Garnett (5) either. Ervin Johnson (Calabro said some jokingly have called him "Tragic" Johnson) has a handful of his own. What's even more disturbing is that 7 of Minnesota 16 boards (SportsLine) were on the offensive glass. Verrrry disturbing. Also, Minnesota ended the quarter on an 8-0 run which included back-to-back Szczerbiak threes.
2nd qtr
10:25 Seattle timeout, Sonics getting boat-raced MIN 31-18. 10:11 Lewis cleans up down low on a Radmanovic miss MIN 31-20. 8:42 Radmanovic very long two MIN 36-22. 8:00 Radmanovic three left corner MIN 38-25. 7:17 righty jump hool Lewis MIN 40-27. 6:44 Allen with moves to the basket easy layup MIN 40-29, answered with Hoiberg three. 6:00 Allen drives again to the basket for a layup and one MIN 43-32. 5:37 Allen transition three MIN 43-35, Minnesota timeout. 5:02 Murray with moves for a banker MIN 43-37, 7th straight Seattle basket. 4:29 Allen cutting toward basket, nice pass to him SEA 45-39. 4:02 Allen three right side MIN 47-42. 3:23 Lewis finger-roll into the lane MIN 50-44. 1:01 Radmanovic three fresh off the bench MIN 57-47. 0:38 Murray three MIN 59-50, answered by Hudson three. 0:04.5 Murray drives, gets fouled and hits one MIN 62-51.
The first part of the quarter, the Sonics were just getting blown out of the gym. They were still getting blistered on the glass, and worse yet, they weren't shooting well (especially from beyond the arc) and Minnesota was shooting the lights out, what with all their second chances and stuff. Ray Allen hit three straight shots to get the Sonics within eight, which was good because he was shooting horribly before that. The Sonics managed to hit ten straight baskets, but Kevin Garnett was still having his way down low, as the Sonics still found themselves down by 8 because Minnesota hit four straight baskets in the same stretch.
At halftime -- Minnesota 62, Seattle 51
Well, the Sonics are shooting 50% at half, and they scored 51 points in the first half, and that's pretty good. However, that won't do you much good when you give up 62 points in the same half. The Sonics had a great run spurred by Ray Allen, but ultimately it still left the Timberwolves with a pretty comfortable lead. Why? Well, it's not just Minnesota shooting 60%. It's also the fact that they're getting killed on the glass 19-11 (Minnesota has 7 offensive boards). It's also the fact that the Timberwolves are 8-for-13 from downtown, in effect giving the Sonics a taste of their own medicine. The Timberwolves have also been able to get some mismatches down low, punctuated by an easy Eddie Griffin basket (6'10") when he was double-teamed by the Seattle backcourt. Overall, it's the Sonics who are not playing solid defense that we've seen in the first part of the season that we haven't seen for most of the last couple weeks (sans the second quarter against Denver).
Also, the Timberwolves' bench is on fire. They've outscored the Seattle bench 38-16, and outrebounding them 8-3. As for other stats, Ray Allen has 17 at the half, Vladimir Radmanovic has 8, and Rashard Lewis, Luke Ridnour, and Ron Murray all have 6. Reggie Evans and Radmanovic lead in rebounding with (yikes) 3 each.
Danny Fortson played exactly two minutes in the first half, and I have no idea why he hasn't played more.
We'll see whether the Sonics have dug themselves too big of a hole tonight or not. Judging from how they've been playing lately, I'd have to say they did. The first few minutes of the third quarter will be very important.
3rd qtr
10:53 Minnesota pass tipped, leading ro Allen fastbreak drive and foul, hits two MIN 64-54, answered by Hudson three, and a wide-open baseline jumper MIN 69-54. 9:30 Ridnour corner three MIN 69-57. 8:41 Ridnour off a broken play (near-turnover) hits another three MIN 70-60, with stellar defense on Garnett down low on next possession. 7:23 James spin-moves on Griffin and JAMS it...wow MIN 72-62, answered by a Hassell foul and one (missed). 7:04 Allen spots an open lane, two-handed reverse slam MIN 74-64, answered by Wally three. 6:19 Sonics in the bonus. 5:43 James jumphook MIN 78-67. 5:14 Radmanovic steal, slam MIN 78-69. 3:29 Lewis beats the shot clock with a three...beautifully run play, good ball movement MIN 78-72. 2:14 Lewis banker right side MIN 80-74, 9-2 run. 1:26 Daniels drives wide-open lane, goaltend Garnett MIN 82-76, answered by Hoiberg.
After three quarters -- Minnesota 88, Seattle 76
Minnesota ended the third quarter on a 6-0 run, and it happened pretty quickly too. Wally Szczerbiak had a good third quarter, but was incensed with the officials and after Rashard Lewis heaved a 3/4-court shot at the buzzer, the ball came to Wally and he spiked it, which got a reaction from the crowd. I hope the Sonics can pull this one off so Wally can look more like an idiot, but it'll be a tall order because the Timberwolves just won't cool down; they're shooting 63%.
4th qtr
11:45 Ridnour lane layup MIN 88-78. 11:03 Radmanovic layin down low MIN 90-80. Szczerbiak is getting booed every time he touches the ball, but he's in the freakin' zone. 9:31 Daniels three right side MIN 92-83. 7:28 Wally scores Minnesota's 100th point, probably the end of the game. 7:03 James jam fouled hard by Wally. 6:39 Lewis three MIN 100-89. 5:59 James JAM after missed Lewis alleyoop and low Allen layup MIN 100-91. 5:30 Ridnour steal, fastbreak James layup and one (missed) MIN 100-93, answered by Hudson. 4:56 Lewis reverse layup under basket MIN 102-95. 4:32 Ridnour pumpfakes Garnett, drives in lane for layup MIN 102-97, 12-2 Sonic run. 4:08 Jerome James fouls out. 3:54 Ridnour THREE MIN 104-100, answered by Garnett. 2:58 Hoiberg three, ouch MIN 109-100. 2:37 Radmanovic THREE MIN 109-103. 2:12 Seattle in the bonus, Lewis hits both MIN 109-105. 1:47 Allen baseline layup MIN 111-107. 1:05 Radmanovic dribble off foot out of bounds after offensive rebound. 0:40 Wally offensive rebound. 0:15.3 ANOTHER freakin Wally offensive rebound.
Final -- Minnesota 112, Seattle 107
===
Well, the Sonics have given two consecutive key games away to division foes. Not good.
As I suspected, the Sonics dug themselves too much of a hole early, and they couldn't quite dig out of it. They almost did exactly that, though, against a Minnesota team that looked like a damn good team tonight.
It's almost like a broken record in the last few losses. The Sonics just don't manage to defend quite well enough to put them over the top. Really, it was the brutal stretch to end the first quarter and start the second quarter that doomed the Sonics. They were getting absolutely blitzed on the boards, and the Timberwolves were shooting out of their freakin' minds. It was incredible.
As for evidence that the Sonics kicked it away early, they managed to get within four points in that fourth quarter where they almost pulled it out. Minnesota came in having lost four games this year in which they held double-digit leads, but tonight they would get the win. The Timberwolves had an answer for everything the Sonics threw at them. If Ray Allen or Luke Ridnour drove to the basket for a layup, or if Rashard Lewis hit a short shot, the Timberwolves responded -- Troy Hudson with a three on the other end, Wally Szczerbiak hitting shots at will, Kevin Garnett nailing an 18-footer, you name the player and a spot on the floor, the Timberwolves sunk the shot.
The Timberwolves got the win by 5 tonight, but they needed a near-perfect storm to do it -- they shot 58% from the field, they shot 58% from downtown, and Wally Szczerbiak went nuts and probably will come out of this as someone just as hated by Seattle fans as Kobe Bryant is. He was drawing the ire of the crowd (especially after spiking the ball to end the third quarter) and it only seemed to fuel his game not just from the field (11-for-19) but from the free-throw line as well, where he hit on 10 of 12 attempts.
The one encouraging thing tonight for the Sonics was that they weren't living and dying by the three, though it was falling at a decent percentage. They were taking a lot of balls to the rack, and they looked great doing it. They did sink their fair amount of threes, but most of those shots didn't have the bad aura that the shots from the Denver game had -- Craig Ehlo's gotten on them for it, but I believe him when he says the Sonics' three-point attempts are much more justified when they run a play to set it up rather than just bombing it if nobody's open or if few other options are available. It looked like the Sonics were much better setting up threes tonight rather than just haphazardly heaving them.
I hope I find out in the paper why Danny Fortson only played 9 minutes tonight and was held scoreless. Was he that ineffective? Was it that necessary to get the height advantage on Kevin Garnett with Jerome James instead of Fortson? Granted, Jerome might have had his best game of the year, but I've seen Fortson put up a line of 11 and 6 before, and who knows if he would have been able to stop some shots inside if he was given more time tonight. Then again, with the few minutes that he was in there, not a lot of results came out of it (1 rebound). Still, I'm kind of mystified by this. Maybe, just maybe he could have won this game at the free-throw line.
Oh yeah, the Sonics' bench got throttled tonight (Wally came off the bench), but I'll get to that in the Peek.
In short, the Sonics lost this game with that stretch that ended the first quarter and started the second. The fact that they nearly pulled it off in the end despite Minnesota shooting lights-out and Szczerbiak in a zone of all zones is a bit encouraging, along with the amount of balls they were taking straight to the hoop. The Sonics quelled the turnover problem of the last couple games, or at least they cut down the amount. With the Sonics down four points, Vladimir Radmanovic grabbed an offensive rebound with just over a minute left in the game and dribbled the ball off himself and out of bounds to effectively seal the deal for Minnesota. Less turnovers, yes, but that was a very ill-timed one.
To end this part of my spiel, this would have been a hell of a win for the Sonics, but maybe it's better they didn't. Maybe they'll actually have to face the fact that they need to ratchet up on defense again. Minnesota shot the ball extremely well, sure, but you've got to find ways to prevent them from setting up the shots and not let them get good looks. Minnesota hit a lot of contested shots tonight, sure, but I'd have to say that they also hit 95% of their open shots.
It's not just that though. To put it bluntly, the Sonics just need to come up with more defensive stops. Period.
The Sonics are now 5-5 in January.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ray Allen 25 pts/4 reb/6 ast (7-23 FG, 2-7 3pt, 9-9 free throws), Luke Ridnour 19 pts/2 reb/3 ast (7-8 FG, 3-3 3pt), Rashard Lewis 18 pts/6 reb (7-19 FG, 2-7 3pt), Reggie Evans 4 pts/3 reb/2 ast (2-4 free throws)
bench
Vlad Radmanovic 15 pts/10 reb/2 blk (6-14 FG, 3-6 3pt), Antonio Daniels 7 pts/4 ast (3-5 FG, 24 min), Ron Murray 6 pts/2 ast (2-3 FG, 10 min), Nick Collison 2 pts/1 reb (10 min), Danny Fortson 0 pts/1 reb (9 min)
Jerome James Watch
11 pts/6 reb/1 blk (5-7 FG, 1-3 free throws, 20 min, fouled out)...it's more than likely an aberration, but if this gives Jerome a bit of confidence, then that in itself is good, though I'm fully expecting a regression back to the mean.
team
shots 39-for-83 from the field (47%, Minnesota shot 58.1%), shot 12-for-25 from downtown (48%, Minnesota hit 10 of 17 for 58.8%), shot 17-for-22 from the line (77.3%, Minnesota hit 16 of 19 for 84.2%), somehow outrebounded the Timberwolves 35-34, bench outscored by Wally Szczerbiak 34-30, bench badly outscored by Minnesota whole bench 72-30 (outrebounded 14-12)
Well, some quick reactions after looking at the boxscore in depth. Ray Allen's shot was still hung over a bit from the Denver game at the start of this one, so he didn't start out too hot. Luke Ridnour had a great night scoringwise, but the low assist numbers between him and Daniels tonight stuck out at me. I didn't think Radmanovic had another double-double, but sure enough he did. After one of Ron Murray's earlier baskets, Craig Ehlo pointed out that it might be nice if Murray could have caught fire a bit tonight. Yeah, it would have. They could have really used it. Also, the Sonics picked up their board presence late in the fourth quarter, enabling them to somehow outboard the Timberwolves, which didn't seem like a possibility early in the game.
In the department of free throws, the Sonics missed five of their 22. The culprits? Ron Murray missed once, and Jerome James and Reggie Evans missed twice each -- basically it's everyone on the team that you would expect to be missing free throws. Still, the Sonics missed five free throws and lost this game by five points. Again, this is why I'm amazed that Fortson didn't play more than nine minutes, unless he was injured or had Evans' stomach ailment or something.
When asked if he thought the Timberwolves looked like a new team tonight, Jinkies said, "[t]he things you say to me are not normal. I am thinking you need to leave the computer and get some oxygen and fresh daylight."
(final content posted 11p)
Here's what I have for tonight's tilt. Postgame thoughts will eventually be placed below the in-game action.
1st qtr
10:02 Ridnour coast-to-coast layup SEA 4-2. 8:02 Allen baseline drive hacked, hits both TIE 6-6. 7:28 Ridnour baseline long jumper SEA 8-6. 6:01 Evans cleans up missed Allen layup SEA 12-8. 3:53 Garnett stuffs Evans, then runs the floor for a fastbreak layup. 3:39 Allen fouled on a driving jump-stop, hits both SEA 14-10. 2:13 Collison jam in transition after Szczberbiak trips running downcourt SEA 18-17.
After one quarter -- Minnesota 25, Seattle 18
The most disturbing thing about the first quarter was how badly the Sonics got drilled on the glass. The broadcast has the Sonics being outrebounded 14-7, while SportsLine has 16-7. The thing is, it's not just Kevin Garnett (5) either. Ervin Johnson (Calabro said some jokingly have called him "Tragic" Johnson) has a handful of his own. What's even more disturbing is that 7 of Minnesota 16 boards (SportsLine) were on the offensive glass. Verrrry disturbing. Also, Minnesota ended the quarter on an 8-0 run which included back-to-back Szczerbiak threes.
2nd qtr
10:25 Seattle timeout, Sonics getting boat-raced MIN 31-18. 10:11 Lewis cleans up down low on a Radmanovic miss MIN 31-20. 8:42 Radmanovic very long two MIN 36-22. 8:00 Radmanovic three left corner MIN 38-25. 7:17 righty jump hool Lewis MIN 40-27. 6:44 Allen with moves to the basket easy layup MIN 40-29, answered with Hoiberg three. 6:00 Allen drives again to the basket for a layup and one MIN 43-32. 5:37 Allen transition three MIN 43-35, Minnesota timeout. 5:02 Murray with moves for a banker MIN 43-37, 7th straight Seattle basket. 4:29 Allen cutting toward basket, nice pass to him SEA 45-39. 4:02 Allen three right side MIN 47-42. 3:23 Lewis finger-roll into the lane MIN 50-44. 1:01 Radmanovic three fresh off the bench MIN 57-47. 0:38 Murray three MIN 59-50, answered by Hudson three. 0:04.5 Murray drives, gets fouled and hits one MIN 62-51.
The first part of the quarter, the Sonics were just getting blown out of the gym. They were still getting blistered on the glass, and worse yet, they weren't shooting well (especially from beyond the arc) and Minnesota was shooting the lights out, what with all their second chances and stuff. Ray Allen hit three straight shots to get the Sonics within eight, which was good because he was shooting horribly before that. The Sonics managed to hit ten straight baskets, but Kevin Garnett was still having his way down low, as the Sonics still found themselves down by 8 because Minnesota hit four straight baskets in the same stretch.
At halftime -- Minnesota 62, Seattle 51
Well, the Sonics are shooting 50% at half, and they scored 51 points in the first half, and that's pretty good. However, that won't do you much good when you give up 62 points in the same half. The Sonics had a great run spurred by Ray Allen, but ultimately it still left the Timberwolves with a pretty comfortable lead. Why? Well, it's not just Minnesota shooting 60%. It's also the fact that they're getting killed on the glass 19-11 (Minnesota has 7 offensive boards). It's also the fact that the Timberwolves are 8-for-13 from downtown, in effect giving the Sonics a taste of their own medicine. The Timberwolves have also been able to get some mismatches down low, punctuated by an easy Eddie Griffin basket (6'10") when he was double-teamed by the Seattle backcourt. Overall, it's the Sonics who are not playing solid defense that we've seen in the first part of the season that we haven't seen for most of the last couple weeks (sans the second quarter against Denver).
Also, the Timberwolves' bench is on fire. They've outscored the Seattle bench 38-16, and outrebounding them 8-3. As for other stats, Ray Allen has 17 at the half, Vladimir Radmanovic has 8, and Rashard Lewis, Luke Ridnour, and Ron Murray all have 6. Reggie Evans and Radmanovic lead in rebounding with (yikes) 3 each.
Danny Fortson played exactly two minutes in the first half, and I have no idea why he hasn't played more.
We'll see whether the Sonics have dug themselves too big of a hole tonight or not. Judging from how they've been playing lately, I'd have to say they did. The first few minutes of the third quarter will be very important.
3rd qtr
10:53 Minnesota pass tipped, leading ro Allen fastbreak drive and foul, hits two MIN 64-54, answered by Hudson three, and a wide-open baseline jumper MIN 69-54. 9:30 Ridnour corner three MIN 69-57. 8:41 Ridnour off a broken play (near-turnover) hits another three MIN 70-60, with stellar defense on Garnett down low on next possession. 7:23 James spin-moves on Griffin and JAMS it...wow MIN 72-62, answered by a Hassell foul and one (missed). 7:04 Allen spots an open lane, two-handed reverse slam MIN 74-64, answered by Wally three. 6:19 Sonics in the bonus. 5:43 James jumphook MIN 78-67. 5:14 Radmanovic steal, slam MIN 78-69. 3:29 Lewis beats the shot clock with a three...beautifully run play, good ball movement MIN 78-72. 2:14 Lewis banker right side MIN 80-74, 9-2 run. 1:26 Daniels drives wide-open lane, goaltend Garnett MIN 82-76, answered by Hoiberg.
After three quarters -- Minnesota 88, Seattle 76
Minnesota ended the third quarter on a 6-0 run, and it happened pretty quickly too. Wally Szczerbiak had a good third quarter, but was incensed with the officials and after Rashard Lewis heaved a 3/4-court shot at the buzzer, the ball came to Wally and he spiked it, which got a reaction from the crowd. I hope the Sonics can pull this one off so Wally can look more like an idiot, but it'll be a tall order because the Timberwolves just won't cool down; they're shooting 63%.
4th qtr
11:45 Ridnour lane layup MIN 88-78. 11:03 Radmanovic layin down low MIN 90-80. Szczerbiak is getting booed every time he touches the ball, but he's in the freakin' zone. 9:31 Daniels three right side MIN 92-83. 7:28 Wally scores Minnesota's 100th point, probably the end of the game. 7:03 James jam fouled hard by Wally. 6:39 Lewis three MIN 100-89. 5:59 James JAM after missed Lewis alleyoop and low Allen layup MIN 100-91. 5:30 Ridnour steal, fastbreak James layup and one (missed) MIN 100-93, answered by Hudson. 4:56 Lewis reverse layup under basket MIN 102-95. 4:32 Ridnour pumpfakes Garnett, drives in lane for layup MIN 102-97, 12-2 Sonic run. 4:08 Jerome James fouls out. 3:54 Ridnour THREE MIN 104-100, answered by Garnett. 2:58 Hoiberg three, ouch MIN 109-100. 2:37 Radmanovic THREE MIN 109-103. 2:12 Seattle in the bonus, Lewis hits both MIN 109-105. 1:47 Allen baseline layup MIN 111-107. 1:05 Radmanovic dribble off foot out of bounds after offensive rebound. 0:40 Wally offensive rebound. 0:15.3 ANOTHER freakin Wally offensive rebound.
Final -- Minnesota 112, Seattle 107
===
Well, the Sonics have given two consecutive key games away to division foes. Not good.
As I suspected, the Sonics dug themselves too much of a hole early, and they couldn't quite dig out of it. They almost did exactly that, though, against a Minnesota team that looked like a damn good team tonight.
It's almost like a broken record in the last few losses. The Sonics just don't manage to defend quite well enough to put them over the top. Really, it was the brutal stretch to end the first quarter and start the second quarter that doomed the Sonics. They were getting absolutely blitzed on the boards, and the Timberwolves were shooting out of their freakin' minds. It was incredible.
As for evidence that the Sonics kicked it away early, they managed to get within four points in that fourth quarter where they almost pulled it out. Minnesota came in having lost four games this year in which they held double-digit leads, but tonight they would get the win. The Timberwolves had an answer for everything the Sonics threw at them. If Ray Allen or Luke Ridnour drove to the basket for a layup, or if Rashard Lewis hit a short shot, the Timberwolves responded -- Troy Hudson with a three on the other end, Wally Szczerbiak hitting shots at will, Kevin Garnett nailing an 18-footer, you name the player and a spot on the floor, the Timberwolves sunk the shot.
The Timberwolves got the win by 5 tonight, but they needed a near-perfect storm to do it -- they shot 58% from the field, they shot 58% from downtown, and Wally Szczerbiak went nuts and probably will come out of this as someone just as hated by Seattle fans as Kobe Bryant is. He was drawing the ire of the crowd (especially after spiking the ball to end the third quarter) and it only seemed to fuel his game not just from the field (11-for-19) but from the free-throw line as well, where he hit on 10 of 12 attempts.
The one encouraging thing tonight for the Sonics was that they weren't living and dying by the three, though it was falling at a decent percentage. They were taking a lot of balls to the rack, and they looked great doing it. They did sink their fair amount of threes, but most of those shots didn't have the bad aura that the shots from the Denver game had -- Craig Ehlo's gotten on them for it, but I believe him when he says the Sonics' three-point attempts are much more justified when they run a play to set it up rather than just bombing it if nobody's open or if few other options are available. It looked like the Sonics were much better setting up threes tonight rather than just haphazardly heaving them.
I hope I find out in the paper why Danny Fortson only played 9 minutes tonight and was held scoreless. Was he that ineffective? Was it that necessary to get the height advantage on Kevin Garnett with Jerome James instead of Fortson? Granted, Jerome might have had his best game of the year, but I've seen Fortson put up a line of 11 and 6 before, and who knows if he would have been able to stop some shots inside if he was given more time tonight. Then again, with the few minutes that he was in there, not a lot of results came out of it (1 rebound). Still, I'm kind of mystified by this. Maybe, just maybe he could have won this game at the free-throw line.
Oh yeah, the Sonics' bench got throttled tonight (Wally came off the bench), but I'll get to that in the Peek.
In short, the Sonics lost this game with that stretch that ended the first quarter and started the second. The fact that they nearly pulled it off in the end despite Minnesota shooting lights-out and Szczerbiak in a zone of all zones is a bit encouraging, along with the amount of balls they were taking straight to the hoop. The Sonics quelled the turnover problem of the last couple games, or at least they cut down the amount. With the Sonics down four points, Vladimir Radmanovic grabbed an offensive rebound with just over a minute left in the game and dribbled the ball off himself and out of bounds to effectively seal the deal for Minnesota. Less turnovers, yes, but that was a very ill-timed one.
To end this part of my spiel, this would have been a hell of a win for the Sonics, but maybe it's better they didn't. Maybe they'll actually have to face the fact that they need to ratchet up on defense again. Minnesota shot the ball extremely well, sure, but you've got to find ways to prevent them from setting up the shots and not let them get good looks. Minnesota hit a lot of contested shots tonight, sure, but I'd have to say that they also hit 95% of their open shots.
It's not just that though. To put it bluntly, the Sonics just need to come up with more defensive stops. Period.
The Sonics are now 5-5 in January.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ray Allen 25 pts/4 reb/6 ast (7-23 FG, 2-7 3pt, 9-9 free throws), Luke Ridnour 19 pts/2 reb/3 ast (7-8 FG, 3-3 3pt), Rashard Lewis 18 pts/6 reb (7-19 FG, 2-7 3pt), Reggie Evans 4 pts/3 reb/2 ast (2-4 free throws)
bench
Vlad Radmanovic 15 pts/10 reb/2 blk (6-14 FG, 3-6 3pt), Antonio Daniels 7 pts/4 ast (3-5 FG, 24 min), Ron Murray 6 pts/2 ast (2-3 FG, 10 min), Nick Collison 2 pts/1 reb (10 min), Danny Fortson 0 pts/1 reb (9 min)
Jerome James Watch
11 pts/6 reb/1 blk (5-7 FG, 1-3 free throws, 20 min, fouled out)...it's more than likely an aberration, but if this gives Jerome a bit of confidence, then that in itself is good, though I'm fully expecting a regression back to the mean.
team
shots 39-for-83 from the field (47%, Minnesota shot 58.1%), shot 12-for-25 from downtown (48%, Minnesota hit 10 of 17 for 58.8%), shot 17-for-22 from the line (77.3%, Minnesota hit 16 of 19 for 84.2%), somehow outrebounded the Timberwolves 35-34, bench outscored by Wally Szczerbiak 34-30, bench badly outscored by Minnesota whole bench 72-30 (outrebounded 14-12)
Well, some quick reactions after looking at the boxscore in depth. Ray Allen's shot was still hung over a bit from the Denver game at the start of this one, so he didn't start out too hot. Luke Ridnour had a great night scoringwise, but the low assist numbers between him and Daniels tonight stuck out at me. I didn't think Radmanovic had another double-double, but sure enough he did. After one of Ron Murray's earlier baskets, Craig Ehlo pointed out that it might be nice if Murray could have caught fire a bit tonight. Yeah, it would have. They could have really used it. Also, the Sonics picked up their board presence late in the fourth quarter, enabling them to somehow outboard the Timberwolves, which didn't seem like a possibility early in the game.
In the department of free throws, the Sonics missed five of their 22. The culprits? Ron Murray missed once, and Jerome James and Reggie Evans missed twice each -- basically it's everyone on the team that you would expect to be missing free throws. Still, the Sonics missed five free throws and lost this game by five points. Again, this is why I'm amazed that Fortson didn't play more than nine minutes, unless he was injured or had Evans' stomach ailment or something.
When asked if he thought the Timberwolves looked like a new team tonight, Jinkies said, "[t]he things you say to me are not normal. I am thinking you need to leave the computer and get some oxygen and fresh daylight."
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