Sunday, January 23, 2005
GAME 39: SUPERSONICS 122, JAZZ 105
SuperSonics 122, Jazz 105
Here's what I have for the scrawl tonight. It might not be quite as complete since I didn't have access to stats for most of the game. That and I was flipping back and forth between the game and the AFC title game, as well as fitting in a game of NHL 2005. I'm trying to do everything, like Andrei Kirilenko.
(final content posted ~10:32p)
1st qtr
10:49 first Sonic basket is Allen three beating shot clock SEA 3-2. 9:07 Rashard beats the shot clock with a 15-foot banker UTA 6-5. 8:29 Rashard three right side TIE 8-8. 7:30 Ridnour hit with his second foul, Daniels in. 7:17 James hit with second foul, on offense; Radmanovic in. 6:58 Sonics' 5th team foul. 6:38 Daniels turnaround hook foul and one SEA 16-11. 5:41 Radmanovic three SEA 19-15. 3:21 6th Sonic turnover. 1:59 Radmanovic three right corner SEA 26-21, Sonics 4-4 on 3s. 0:18.7 Daniels three right corner SEA 33-23, Seattle's 6th straight sunk free throw.
After one quarter -- Seattle 33, Utah 23
Well, there's a lot of good signs about the quarter. The Sonics were a tiny bit better in points allowed, as 23 isn't stellar, but it's a step. The one other real negative is that the Sonics still turned the ball over six times. However, the Sonics nailed their first shots from downtown, they sunk shots to beat the shot clock on a couple of occasions, they shot 61% from the field, and they hit all 12 of their free throws. Twelve free throws in a quarter is pretty good stuff. Rashard Lewis leads the team with 9 after one quarter, and Antonio Daniels and Ray Allen both have 8. Evans leads on the boards with 4. The Sonics outboarded the Jazz 9-4.
2nd qtr
10:52 Daniels nice long jumper set up by Ridnour pass SEA 35-25. 10:13 Sonics with 8 turnovers. 7:58 Radmanovic deep two SEA 39-33. 7:33 Daniels drive and slam SEA 41-35. 6:44 Ridnour splits defenders in paint, gts layup SEA 43-35. 6:08 Rashard drop-step layup from behind basket, fouled, misses (first missed Sonic free throw) SEA 45-37. 5:15 Ridnour to Daniels in corner three SEA 50-39. 4:41 Ridnour nice pass no-look low to Evans for slam SEA 52-39. 4:19 Evans jumps passing lane on defense, drives and gets fouled, bricks both. 2:46 Allen bricks two free throws. 1:07 Allen jumper off Collison screen SEA 56-45. 0:11.4 Allen intercepts pass, Daniels to Lewis in corner for three, SEA 60-45. 0:00.1 Ridnour drives 94 feet in four seconds to the basket, layup rolls off and Collison SLAMS it to beat the buzzer SEA 62-47.
At half -- Seattle 62, Utah 47
The couple more turnovers is disturbing, but the Sonics bricked 8 of 13 free throws in the quarter. Ray Allen even missed a set of two free throws in the quarter. It didn't help that Reggie Evans found his way to the line a couple times as well.
Three things stick out to me. The Sonics seem to be a lot more aggressive defensively, able to force the Jazz into tough shots, and able to jump passing lanes and turn them into something on the other end. Of course, the fact that the three seems to be falling tonight is a big bonus.
3rd qtr
10:30 James offensive rebound out to Lewis for three SEA 67-49. 9:52 Lewis ANOTHER three, off a Ridnour drive and kick SEA 70-51. 8:02 Ridnour mid-range SEA 72-58. 7:18 If I haven't mentioned it yet, the Sonics are moving the ball really well tonight. 7:08 Ridnour drives lane for a layup, gets fouled SEA 75-58. 6:25 Jazz leading 30-18 on points in paint. 3:08 Kirilenko back in SEA 79-67. 2:23 Lewis over Kirilenko SEA 81-68. 1:45 Kirilenko steals from Allen, layup and foul SEA 81-74. 1:36 Fortson in. 1:25 third foul on Fortson, SEA 82-76. 1:02 Radmanovic running one-hander SEA 84-76. 0:35.5 fourth foul on Fortson, after the 16th Sonic turnover. 0:12.7 fifth foul on Fortson, after a Boozer bucket, and a technical; Fortson out, SEA 84-80. 0:01.8 Daniels drives to the basket, fouled, hits both (20 pts) SEA 86-80.
After three quarters -- Seattle 86, Utah 80
The Jazz just about cut the lead in half with Andrei Kirilenko on the floor. He's not 100% yet, but he's scary good.
4th qtr
11:08 Lewis three left side SEA 91-82. 10:44 Kirilenko stripped on offensive end by Daniels. 10:17 GREAT pass to Collison down low driving for a foul and one SEA 96-82, 8-0 run. 9:41 Ridnour drives lane, lays up and gets fouled SEA 99-82, 11-0 run. 9:08 Lewis driving reverse slam off nice Ridnour pass SEA 101-84. 7:54 Kirilenko charges Lewis in the paint. 6:07 Allen lean-in jumper SEA 105-94. 4:56 Daniels falling away midrange SEA 109-97. 3:31 Seattle timeout, SEA 109-101. 3:20 Lewis three off the timeout SEA 112-101, causes turnover on other end. 2:20 Daniels drive-and0kick to Lewis for a THREE SEA 115-103. 1:49 Collison found with a pass driving the lane for a slam SEA 117-103. 1:09 Allen beats the shot clock with a three SEA 120-103. 0:41.6 Allen three again SEA 122-103.
The run to start the 4th quarter bought the Sonics the leeway that they needed because Utah was really hanging around.
Final -- Seattle 122, Utah 105
===
What did we see in this game?
The Sonics shot the crap out of the ball from everywhere on the floor except from 15 feet away with nobody guarding them.
Rashard Lewis almost had a season high (in points, not a Damon Stoudamire season high).
Danny Fortson was oddly a nonfactor again, but he did go from having two fouls to having five in a very quick span of time.
The Sonics were much more aggressive defensively, getting into the passing lanes and stripping away some balls every once in a while. Once again, all this without much input from Danny Fortson.
Nick Collison got a good deal of minutes tonight and was found open via a couple of nice passes for some easy baskets down low. He also used his five of his fouls.
The Sonics moved the ball a lot better tonight and got a lot better shots as a result. This is reflected in the assist numbers of Antonio Daniels and Luke Ridnour. Though Ridnour scored a career-high 19 in the Minnesota game, he didn't have too many assists, and neither did Daniels in that game. Tonight that wasn't the case.
Not only did Daniels move the ball well tonight, he had a great night scoring as well.
No double-double tonight from Radmanovic, but his fellow benchmate Daniels made up for the scoring end of that.
So we end up with a pretty good win, with the only blights being that the turnovers are still somewhat of a bugaboo, the free-throw shooting a bit off (Reggie Evans did get to the line a lot more tonight), and the fact that Danny Fortson didn't do much again.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Rashard Lewis 36 pts/3 reb (12-17 FG, 7-8 3pt, 5-7 free throws), Ray Allen 20 pts/3 reb/3 ast (6-10 FG, 2-3 3pt, 6-9 free throws), Luke Ridnour 13 pts/7 ast (5-11 FG, 4-4 free throws), Reggie Evans 6 pts/10 reb (1-2 FG, 4-10 free throws)
bench
Antonio Daniels 24 pts/2 reb/8 ast (6-11 FG, 2-5 3pt, 10-11 free throws), Vladimir Radmanovic 12 pts/3 reb (5-7 FG, 2-4 3pt), Nick Collison 9 pts/2 reb/2 stl/2 blk (3-4 FG, 3-3 free throws, 17 min), Danny Fortson 2 pts/1 reb (5 min, 5 fouls)
Jerome James Watch
0 pts/1 reb/1 ast (1 turnover, 3 fouls, no shots, 9 minutes)...come on, you didn't really think he was going to score 11 again, did you?
team
shot 38-for-64 (59.4%) from the field, shot 13-for-22 from downtown (59.1%), shot 33-for-45 (73.3%) from the line, were badly outrebounded 36-25 (Utah had SIXTEEN offensive boards to the Sonics' 5), turned the ball over 15 times for 22 Utah points (Utah's 16 turnovers got the Sonics 13 points), were blasted in the paint 54-30 and on second chance points 23-9
With all those steals and blocks, Nick Collison was almost having the night of an Andrei Kirilenko Lite. Kirilenko's sick numbers in just 14 minutes: 14 pts/3 reb/2 ast/3 stl/2 blk. Fortunately for the Sonics, Kirilenko did turn the ball over four times. However, the two instances in the game where Kirilenko was given significant minutes coincided with the Jazz making runs to make the Sonics worry a bit. There was one a sequence where he stuffed Fortson on the defensive end, ran the floor, then made a touch pass to Mehmet Okur for an easy basket down low. The dude is nuts.
The Sonics certainly did shoot the ball very well. If they hit their free throws tonight like they usually do, the outcome of this game is never in doubt. Ray Allen even bricked a pair of free throws at one point. The man doing damage at the line tonight was Antonio Daniels. However, I wasn't expecting Reggie Evans to get to the line 10 times tonight, though the fact that he missed six of them doesn't surprise me.
The assist numbers of Luke Ridnour and Antonio Daniels reflect how well they moved the ball. It made the game really fun to watch. The extra pass was being made, and a lot better shots were being found on the court. Fun.
Of course, it's probably going to take the Sonics shooting this well to make up for being out rebounded by 11. They definitely can't afford to be outrebounded like that every night, and they can't afford for Danny Fortson to be this much of a nonfactor for too long without it catching up to them. I know he piled up a bunch of fouls quickly tonight, but there's got to be some kind of response from him or the team in the next game. They gave up 16 offensive boards and 23 second-chance points, for goodness' sake.
I asked Jinkies what the Sonics have to do to reestablish their presence on the offensive boards. His response: "I will perhaps respond later. My typing paw is very tired now."
Here's what I have for the scrawl tonight. It might not be quite as complete since I didn't have access to stats for most of the game. That and I was flipping back and forth between the game and the AFC title game, as well as fitting in a game of NHL 2005. I'm trying to do everything, like Andrei Kirilenko.
(final content posted ~10:32p)
1st qtr
10:49 first Sonic basket is Allen three beating shot clock SEA 3-2. 9:07 Rashard beats the shot clock with a 15-foot banker UTA 6-5. 8:29 Rashard three right side TIE 8-8. 7:30 Ridnour hit with his second foul, Daniels in. 7:17 James hit with second foul, on offense; Radmanovic in. 6:58 Sonics' 5th team foul. 6:38 Daniels turnaround hook foul and one SEA 16-11. 5:41 Radmanovic three SEA 19-15. 3:21 6th Sonic turnover. 1:59 Radmanovic three right corner SEA 26-21, Sonics 4-4 on 3s. 0:18.7 Daniels three right corner SEA 33-23, Seattle's 6th straight sunk free throw.
After one quarter -- Seattle 33, Utah 23
Well, there's a lot of good signs about the quarter. The Sonics were a tiny bit better in points allowed, as 23 isn't stellar, but it's a step. The one other real negative is that the Sonics still turned the ball over six times. However, the Sonics nailed their first shots from downtown, they sunk shots to beat the shot clock on a couple of occasions, they shot 61% from the field, and they hit all 12 of their free throws. Twelve free throws in a quarter is pretty good stuff. Rashard Lewis leads the team with 9 after one quarter, and Antonio Daniels and Ray Allen both have 8. Evans leads on the boards with 4. The Sonics outboarded the Jazz 9-4.
2nd qtr
10:52 Daniels nice long jumper set up by Ridnour pass SEA 35-25. 10:13 Sonics with 8 turnovers. 7:58 Radmanovic deep two SEA 39-33. 7:33 Daniels drive and slam SEA 41-35. 6:44 Ridnour splits defenders in paint, gts layup SEA 43-35. 6:08 Rashard drop-step layup from behind basket, fouled, misses (first missed Sonic free throw) SEA 45-37. 5:15 Ridnour to Daniels in corner three SEA 50-39. 4:41 Ridnour nice pass no-look low to Evans for slam SEA 52-39. 4:19 Evans jumps passing lane on defense, drives and gets fouled, bricks both. 2:46 Allen bricks two free throws. 1:07 Allen jumper off Collison screen SEA 56-45. 0:11.4 Allen intercepts pass, Daniels to Lewis in corner for three, SEA 60-45. 0:00.1 Ridnour drives 94 feet in four seconds to the basket, layup rolls off and Collison SLAMS it to beat the buzzer SEA 62-47.
At half -- Seattle 62, Utah 47
The couple more turnovers is disturbing, but the Sonics bricked 8 of 13 free throws in the quarter. Ray Allen even missed a set of two free throws in the quarter. It didn't help that Reggie Evans found his way to the line a couple times as well.
Three things stick out to me. The Sonics seem to be a lot more aggressive defensively, able to force the Jazz into tough shots, and able to jump passing lanes and turn them into something on the other end. Of course, the fact that the three seems to be falling tonight is a big bonus.
3rd qtr
10:30 James offensive rebound out to Lewis for three SEA 67-49. 9:52 Lewis ANOTHER three, off a Ridnour drive and kick SEA 70-51. 8:02 Ridnour mid-range SEA 72-58. 7:18 If I haven't mentioned it yet, the Sonics are moving the ball really well tonight. 7:08 Ridnour drives lane for a layup, gets fouled SEA 75-58. 6:25 Jazz leading 30-18 on points in paint. 3:08 Kirilenko back in SEA 79-67. 2:23 Lewis over Kirilenko SEA 81-68. 1:45 Kirilenko steals from Allen, layup and foul SEA 81-74. 1:36 Fortson in. 1:25 third foul on Fortson, SEA 82-76. 1:02 Radmanovic running one-hander SEA 84-76. 0:35.5 fourth foul on Fortson, after the 16th Sonic turnover. 0:12.7 fifth foul on Fortson, after a Boozer bucket, and a technical; Fortson out, SEA 84-80. 0:01.8 Daniels drives to the basket, fouled, hits both (20 pts) SEA 86-80.
After three quarters -- Seattle 86, Utah 80
The Jazz just about cut the lead in half with Andrei Kirilenko on the floor. He's not 100% yet, but he's scary good.
4th qtr
11:08 Lewis three left side SEA 91-82. 10:44 Kirilenko stripped on offensive end by Daniels. 10:17 GREAT pass to Collison down low driving for a foul and one SEA 96-82, 8-0 run. 9:41 Ridnour drives lane, lays up and gets fouled SEA 99-82, 11-0 run. 9:08 Lewis driving reverse slam off nice Ridnour pass SEA 101-84. 7:54 Kirilenko charges Lewis in the paint. 6:07 Allen lean-in jumper SEA 105-94. 4:56 Daniels falling away midrange SEA 109-97. 3:31 Seattle timeout, SEA 109-101. 3:20 Lewis three off the timeout SEA 112-101, causes turnover on other end. 2:20 Daniels drive-and0kick to Lewis for a THREE SEA 115-103. 1:49 Collison found with a pass driving the lane for a slam SEA 117-103. 1:09 Allen beats the shot clock with a three SEA 120-103. 0:41.6 Allen three again SEA 122-103.
The run to start the 4th quarter bought the Sonics the leeway that they needed because Utah was really hanging around.
Final -- Seattle 122, Utah 105
===
What did we see in this game?
The Sonics shot the crap out of the ball from everywhere on the floor except from 15 feet away with nobody guarding them.
Rashard Lewis almost had a season high (in points, not a Damon Stoudamire season high).
Danny Fortson was oddly a nonfactor again, but he did go from having two fouls to having five in a very quick span of time.
The Sonics were much more aggressive defensively, getting into the passing lanes and stripping away some balls every once in a while. Once again, all this without much input from Danny Fortson.
Nick Collison got a good deal of minutes tonight and was found open via a couple of nice passes for some easy baskets down low. He also used his five of his fouls.
The Sonics moved the ball a lot better tonight and got a lot better shots as a result. This is reflected in the assist numbers of Antonio Daniels and Luke Ridnour. Though Ridnour scored a career-high 19 in the Minnesota game, he didn't have too many assists, and neither did Daniels in that game. Tonight that wasn't the case.
Not only did Daniels move the ball well tonight, he had a great night scoring as well.
No double-double tonight from Radmanovic, but his fellow benchmate Daniels made up for the scoring end of that.
So we end up with a pretty good win, with the only blights being that the turnovers are still somewhat of a bugaboo, the free-throw shooting a bit off (Reggie Evans did get to the line a lot more tonight), and the fact that Danny Fortson didn't do much again.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Rashard Lewis 36 pts/3 reb (12-17 FG, 7-8 3pt, 5-7 free throws), Ray Allen 20 pts/3 reb/3 ast (6-10 FG, 2-3 3pt, 6-9 free throws), Luke Ridnour 13 pts/7 ast (5-11 FG, 4-4 free throws), Reggie Evans 6 pts/10 reb (1-2 FG, 4-10 free throws)
bench
Antonio Daniels 24 pts/2 reb/8 ast (6-11 FG, 2-5 3pt, 10-11 free throws), Vladimir Radmanovic 12 pts/3 reb (5-7 FG, 2-4 3pt), Nick Collison 9 pts/2 reb/2 stl/2 blk (3-4 FG, 3-3 free throws, 17 min), Danny Fortson 2 pts/1 reb (5 min, 5 fouls)
Jerome James Watch
0 pts/1 reb/1 ast (1 turnover, 3 fouls, no shots, 9 minutes)...come on, you didn't really think he was going to score 11 again, did you?
team
shot 38-for-64 (59.4%) from the field, shot 13-for-22 from downtown (59.1%), shot 33-for-45 (73.3%) from the line, were badly outrebounded 36-25 (Utah had SIXTEEN offensive boards to the Sonics' 5), turned the ball over 15 times for 22 Utah points (Utah's 16 turnovers got the Sonics 13 points), were blasted in the paint 54-30 and on second chance points 23-9
With all those steals and blocks, Nick Collison was almost having the night of an Andrei Kirilenko Lite. Kirilenko's sick numbers in just 14 minutes: 14 pts/3 reb/2 ast/3 stl/2 blk. Fortunately for the Sonics, Kirilenko did turn the ball over four times. However, the two instances in the game where Kirilenko was given significant minutes coincided with the Jazz making runs to make the Sonics worry a bit. There was one a sequence where he stuffed Fortson on the defensive end, ran the floor, then made a touch pass to Mehmet Okur for an easy basket down low. The dude is nuts.
The Sonics certainly did shoot the ball very well. If they hit their free throws tonight like they usually do, the outcome of this game is never in doubt. Ray Allen even bricked a pair of free throws at one point. The man doing damage at the line tonight was Antonio Daniels. However, I wasn't expecting Reggie Evans to get to the line 10 times tonight, though the fact that he missed six of them doesn't surprise me.
The assist numbers of Luke Ridnour and Antonio Daniels reflect how well they moved the ball. It made the game really fun to watch. The extra pass was being made, and a lot better shots were being found on the court. Fun.
Of course, it's probably going to take the Sonics shooting this well to make up for being out rebounded by 11. They definitely can't afford to be outrebounded like that every night, and they can't afford for Danny Fortson to be this much of a nonfactor for too long without it catching up to them. I know he piled up a bunch of fouls quickly tonight, but there's got to be some kind of response from him or the team in the next game. They gave up 16 offensive boards and 23 second-chance points, for goodness' sake.
I asked Jinkies what the Sonics have to do to reestablish their presence on the offensive boards. His response: "I will perhaps respond later. My typing paw is very tired now."
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