Wednesday, May 04, 2005
GAME 5: SUPERSONICS 122, KINGS 118
SuperSonics 122, Kings 118 (Seattle wins best-of-seven series 4-1)
With this victory, the Sonics await the winner of the San Antonio/Denver series, currently led 3-1 by the Spurs. The Sonics have been able to hang with both teams during the season, though much more so with a full lineup of players like they have now. The Sonics were also one of the few teams to win in San Antonio during the regular season. The only thing to fear would be that Bruce Bowen is in Ray Allen's head. The Sonics would need to make sure to not let Bowen have the corner three (that's his only shot), and to minimize the number of times Tim Duncan gets that 15-foot high banker from the left side. That shot's almost a gimmie for him.
Game 5 started out well enough once the Sonics got the ball. Brad Miller of the Kings hit a shot from the left elbow for the first basket of the game, which generally isn't a good sign. The Sonics then scored the next nine points; a Reggie Evans dunk (three-point play) followed by a turnaround hook was sandwiched between Ray Allen's corner three and the crossover move that would be described as an "ankle breaker" on Brad Miller, which is kinda morbid since he'd been coming off the broken fibula. Anyway, the Sonics led 9-2, and Sacramento called timeout with 9:14 to play in the quarter. Evans continued to be relevant with his minutes, scrapping with Kenny Thomas on the floor for a loose ball, and later rolling to the basket for a dunk to put the Sonics up 17-10 with 6:02 to go. Nick Collison's layup off a screen-and-roll with Luke Ridnour (5:16) along with a Reggie Evans free throw put the Sonics up 20-12 with 4:54 remaining. The Kings then reeled off an 11-2 run to take the lead with 2:07 to go, mostly with transition layups and/or dunks, and Peja Stojakovic scored seven points on that run. The Sonics were able to reassume a five-point lead by the end of the quarter, a modest 6-2 run started by a Vladimir Radmanovic three off a screen on the right side. The Sonics led 29-24 after one quarter.
The second quarter eventually started out nicely as well, once they got past where Antonio Daniels got called for charging Corliss Williamson. Daniels nearly had another fast-break chance again, but Williamson and Danny Fortson got tied up in backcourt, and a double foul was called. Once that got out of the way, Daniels hit a long jumper and Ridnour grabbed a Bobby Jackson miss and quickly passed to Daniels, who finished off the break with a layup as the Sonics were on an 8-0 run carrying over from the first quarter, putting them up 33-24, and forcing the Kings to call timeout at the 10:45 mark. The teams traded baskets for a few minutes, then Cuttino Mobley sprained an ankle, leaving the Kings minus one key shooter. Sacramento called a 20-second timeout with 7:11 to go after Mobley hobbled around for a few seconds with the Kings trying to run their offense. Stojakovic hit a three right after the timeout to get the Kings within five at 42-37.
At the exact halfway point of the second quarter, James dunked after putting a spin move on a smaller defender, and the Sonics were up 46-39. Ridnour stripped the ball away and started a break, weaving through defenders at halfcourt, dribbling behind the back and throwing a lefthanded pass across his belly to Rashard Lewis, who slammed it home for a 50-41 Sonic lead with 5:03 left in the half. Ridnour hit a pop from the left elbow at the 4:11 mark to put Seattle up 9, 52-43. The Kings then went on a small 5-0 run, thanks to a Bibby jumpes and a few Stojakovic points. It cut the Seattle lead to four (52-48). Collison dunked to finish a screen-and-roll with Ray Allen to get the lead back to six (54-48), and so did an Allen drive to the glass for a layup with 2:21 remaining (56-50). Though the Sonics had a couple nice plays in the waning minutes (Collison offensive board leading to a Lewis baseline jam, and Collison packing a missed Allen layup) The Kings whittled the lead down to three at half, down only 60-57.
Allen and Lewis led the Sonics with 11 points apiece at halftime. Daniels had 8. Collison and Evans had 7 each.
Then came the storm. After Ray Allen hit a three from the right side on the first possession of the second half, the Kings went on a 7-0 run to take the lead. Stojakovic launched a three and finished a crazy turnover sequence with a fast-break layup to get the Kings a 64-63 lead with 10:16 to go in the quarter. It got worse. The Kings started hitting everything. Jerome James scored the Sonics' only three points the prolongation of the Kings' huge run. Bibby hit a three off a tipped rebound under the basket, Miller hit a perimeter jumper, someone let Maurice Evans hit a corner three, and he also finished a break with a layup and a three-point play since Ridnour made one of those fouls on the break that makes you scratch your head and/or yell at the television. The Kings now led by double-digits, 76-66 at the 8:07 mark, having just gone on a 19-3 tear. Kenny Thomas threw the ball out of bounds on a Sacramento possession with 7:02 left, marking the first Seattle stop of the half.
Seattle never got closer than three points for the rest of the third quarter. Reggie Evans put back a blown Lewis layup for a three-point play to make it 82-79 with 5:02 to go after he flagrant-fouled Bibby a few seconds before that (arm to the head). Allen answered Bibby's drive to the basket with a stepback fadeaway jumper to make it 84-81 (3:56). Off another tipped-out rebound, Bibby ounced in a three-pointer to widen the Kings' lead to eight (91-83, 1:35) before the Sonics went on a 7-2 run to end the quarter, a run dominated by Antonio Daniels. He penetrated and kicked to Danny Fortson, who hit a couple of free throws. He was wiped out by Williamson on an illegal screen, then went straight to the basket and was fouled, and he hit his free throws. Then the quarter ended with Daniels finding Collison low on the right side for an easy basket to make it a 93-90 game, with Sacramento ahead.
The fourth quarter still had to be played. Collison outran everyone down the floor on a break, and Daniels threw a long outlet pass, which Collison finished with a fingerroll layup and a three-point play to tie the score at 95 (9:09). Daniels hit Collison with an alley-oop layup on the next possession to give the Sonics the lead that had escaped them since the opening minutes of the half. After Brad Miller threw a pass out of bounds, Ray Allen pulled up from the left side and sank a shot, putting the finishing touches on a 15-3 Seattle run, and the Sonics led 99-95 with 8:15 left. Allen hit a three from the right side with Maurice Evans all over him to make it 102-97 with 7:31 to go. Stojakovic was fouled by James and hit a couple free throws to make it 102-99 (6:48).
Sacramento got to within two points, though. Brad Miller powered to the rack and abused Radmanovic for a layup, Bibby hit a free throw (but not both), and then drove to the basket for a layup to make it 106-104 with 5:16 remaining in the game. That made it a great time for a 7-0 Rashard Lewis run. Lewis hit a baseline hook from the right side, hit a couple free throws, and nailed a three from the left side to make it 113-104 with 3:28 to go. James grabbed an offensive board and was fouled, sinking a couple of free throws to make it 115-106 (3:01). In what could have been very pivotal, Nick Collison was fouled down low by Brad Miller, and then missed both of his free throws. Even more pivotal, Brad Miller grabbed the rebound of the second free throw and stumbled out of bounds. Daniels hit a couple free throws a few seconds later (119-111, 1:41), but the Kings weren't done yet.
The Kings mounted a 7-1 run in the final two minutes. Mike Bibby hit a jumper and a couple of free throws, and the Kings got a second chance on a possession, and Peja Stojakovic hit a three to make it crazy and also make it 120-118 with 36.5 seconds left in the game.
The Sonics led by only two with 36.5 seconds left. After signaling everyone else away from the ball, Allen worked through Maurice Evans on his way to the basket, as well as Miller and Stojakovic under the basket for a layup to seal the game and the series. Antonio Daniels dove out of bounds for a tipped offensive rebound on the last Sacramento possession. It eventually ended with Bibby missing a three from the right side. Lewis grabbed the rebound and stood on the baseline with the ball raised high in the air with one hand.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ray Allen 30 pts/2 reb/6 ast (12-20 FG, 4-6 3pt, 2-2 free throws, 43 min), Rashard Lewis 24 pts/7 reb/4 ast (7-13 FG, 3-5 3pt, 7-8 free throws, 42 min), Luke Ridnour 10 pts/6 reb/6 ast (5-10 FG, 28 min), Reggie Evans 10 pts/5 reb (3-5 FG, 4-5 free throws, 17 min)
bench
Nick Collison 15 pts/9 reb (6-6 FG, 3-7 free throws, 25 min), Antonio Daniels 14 pts/3 reb/8 ast (3-7 FG, 8-8 free throws, 24 min), Vladimir Radmanovic 6 pts/4 reb (2-8 FG, 1-4 3pt, 1-2 free throws, 25 min), Danny Fortson 2 pts (2-2 free throws, 8 min)
Jerome James Watch
11 pts/6 reb (4-6 FG, 3-4 free throws, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 28 min)
team
shot 42-for-75 (56%) from the floor, shot 8-for-17 (47.1%) from downtown, shot 30-for-38 (78.9%) from the line, badly outrebounded Sacramento 43-25, turned ball over 14 times for 20 Sacramento points (SAC only 7 for 4), beat Sacramento 46-38 in the paint (lost 16-14 on the break), bench outscored Sacramento bench 37-18 (outrebounded them 17-6)
Jerome James stepped aside a bit, but the Sonics were able to win without another freakish game from the garbage-bag man. Ray Allen didn't go off in this one either, and it turns out 30 points is just another night for him. The great story of the Sonic starters, though, is Rashard Lewis, who hadn't really emerged as a huge factor in the series until the clincher. He had the 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter all to himself, for goodness' sake. That's seven of his 24 right there.
I hope Nick Collison stays in a Sonic uniform for many years, and I hope he (along with Reggie Evans) works on his free throws this offseason. That might be the only real flaw in his game. The non-flaws seem to be his moving without the basketball, setting screens, and always seeming to be in the right places on the floor. He was also great on the glass in this game. I guess it's all part of the high basketball IQ, but man, I hope I get to see many years from this guy. Remember, he did put up a few double-doubles during the regular season.
I was seriously afraid for the Sonics after that third quarter. Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic were just shooting the bejeezus out of the ball. I guess the shameful thing for Sacramento is that they shot 51.2% from the floor and scored 118 points altogether, and they still lost. You're not going to win many basketball games by giving up 122 points. On the Sonics' end, they also can't expect to win many games by giving up 118 either, but all they needed was a win. They allowed 33 points in the 2nd quarter and 36 in the 3rd. The Sonics were amazingly consistent with their quarter-to-quarter scoring, though, with 29, 31, 30, and 32.
We saw the emergence of Jerome James in this series and Rashard Lewis got going for the first time, but I don't think the offense will truly be in full swing until Vladimir Radmanovic becomes a factor. I like the way he passes the ball, and he has that ability to pumpfake a three and then dribble to the rack for a dunk. It's weird because it seems like he's barreling along slowly as it happens, but it's actually pretty quick. If they manage to get Radmanovic going, though, this next series could be a whole lot of fun.
You know, this is a special team, and one of the few rewards I've had over the last few months of a jobless state is that I've been able to track this team from game to game. Given the contract status of a big portion of the team, just enjoy what this group of guys is doing. Enjoy that they're a 3rd-seed Western Conference semifinal team that got there despite being picked to finish last in their division. Enjoy that different guys step up to augment Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen every night. Enjoy that they play an exciting brand of basketball.
Enjoy all of it, because next year, the players wearing the green and gold could have entirely different faces. Though I don't want to think about it, even the coach might be prowling the sidelines for a different team.
Just soak this up.
I asked Jinkies if he'd be confused if he went fishing with Peja Stojakovic in the offseason, since Stojakovic shares the same first name as his owner. His reply: "Prrrrrrrrrrski. Prrrrrrrrrrrski. Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrski. Prrrrrrrrrrrrrski."
With this victory, the Sonics await the winner of the San Antonio/Denver series, currently led 3-1 by the Spurs. The Sonics have been able to hang with both teams during the season, though much more so with a full lineup of players like they have now. The Sonics were also one of the few teams to win in San Antonio during the regular season. The only thing to fear would be that Bruce Bowen is in Ray Allen's head. The Sonics would need to make sure to not let Bowen have the corner three (that's his only shot), and to minimize the number of times Tim Duncan gets that 15-foot high banker from the left side. That shot's almost a gimmie for him.
Game 5 started out well enough once the Sonics got the ball. Brad Miller of the Kings hit a shot from the left elbow for the first basket of the game, which generally isn't a good sign. The Sonics then scored the next nine points; a Reggie Evans dunk (three-point play) followed by a turnaround hook was sandwiched between Ray Allen's corner three and the crossover move that would be described as an "ankle breaker" on Brad Miller, which is kinda morbid since he'd been coming off the broken fibula. Anyway, the Sonics led 9-2, and Sacramento called timeout with 9:14 to play in the quarter. Evans continued to be relevant with his minutes, scrapping with Kenny Thomas on the floor for a loose ball, and later rolling to the basket for a dunk to put the Sonics up 17-10 with 6:02 to go. Nick Collison's layup off a screen-and-roll with Luke Ridnour (5:16) along with a Reggie Evans free throw put the Sonics up 20-12 with 4:54 remaining. The Kings then reeled off an 11-2 run to take the lead with 2:07 to go, mostly with transition layups and/or dunks, and Peja Stojakovic scored seven points on that run. The Sonics were able to reassume a five-point lead by the end of the quarter, a modest 6-2 run started by a Vladimir Radmanovic three off a screen on the right side. The Sonics led 29-24 after one quarter.
The second quarter eventually started out nicely as well, once they got past where Antonio Daniels got called for charging Corliss Williamson. Daniels nearly had another fast-break chance again, but Williamson and Danny Fortson got tied up in backcourt, and a double foul was called. Once that got out of the way, Daniels hit a long jumper and Ridnour grabbed a Bobby Jackson miss and quickly passed to Daniels, who finished off the break with a layup as the Sonics were on an 8-0 run carrying over from the first quarter, putting them up 33-24, and forcing the Kings to call timeout at the 10:45 mark. The teams traded baskets for a few minutes, then Cuttino Mobley sprained an ankle, leaving the Kings minus one key shooter. Sacramento called a 20-second timeout with 7:11 to go after Mobley hobbled around for a few seconds with the Kings trying to run their offense. Stojakovic hit a three right after the timeout to get the Kings within five at 42-37.
At the exact halfway point of the second quarter, James dunked after putting a spin move on a smaller defender, and the Sonics were up 46-39. Ridnour stripped the ball away and started a break, weaving through defenders at halfcourt, dribbling behind the back and throwing a lefthanded pass across his belly to Rashard Lewis, who slammed it home for a 50-41 Sonic lead with 5:03 left in the half. Ridnour hit a pop from the left elbow at the 4:11 mark to put Seattle up 9, 52-43. The Kings then went on a small 5-0 run, thanks to a Bibby jumpes and a few Stojakovic points. It cut the Seattle lead to four (52-48). Collison dunked to finish a screen-and-roll with Ray Allen to get the lead back to six (54-48), and so did an Allen drive to the glass for a layup with 2:21 remaining (56-50). Though the Sonics had a couple nice plays in the waning minutes (Collison offensive board leading to a Lewis baseline jam, and Collison packing a missed Allen layup) The Kings whittled the lead down to three at half, down only 60-57.
Allen and Lewis led the Sonics with 11 points apiece at halftime. Daniels had 8. Collison and Evans had 7 each.
Then came the storm. After Ray Allen hit a three from the right side on the first possession of the second half, the Kings went on a 7-0 run to take the lead. Stojakovic launched a three and finished a crazy turnover sequence with a fast-break layup to get the Kings a 64-63 lead with 10:16 to go in the quarter. It got worse. The Kings started hitting everything. Jerome James scored the Sonics' only three points the prolongation of the Kings' huge run. Bibby hit a three off a tipped rebound under the basket, Miller hit a perimeter jumper, someone let Maurice Evans hit a corner three, and he also finished a break with a layup and a three-point play since Ridnour made one of those fouls on the break that makes you scratch your head and/or yell at the television. The Kings now led by double-digits, 76-66 at the 8:07 mark, having just gone on a 19-3 tear. Kenny Thomas threw the ball out of bounds on a Sacramento possession with 7:02 left, marking the first Seattle stop of the half.
Seattle never got closer than three points for the rest of the third quarter. Reggie Evans put back a blown Lewis layup for a three-point play to make it 82-79 with 5:02 to go after he flagrant-fouled Bibby a few seconds before that (arm to the head). Allen answered Bibby's drive to the basket with a stepback fadeaway jumper to make it 84-81 (3:56). Off another tipped-out rebound, Bibby ounced in a three-pointer to widen the Kings' lead to eight (91-83, 1:35) before the Sonics went on a 7-2 run to end the quarter, a run dominated by Antonio Daniels. He penetrated and kicked to Danny Fortson, who hit a couple of free throws. He was wiped out by Williamson on an illegal screen, then went straight to the basket and was fouled, and he hit his free throws. Then the quarter ended with Daniels finding Collison low on the right side for an easy basket to make it a 93-90 game, with Sacramento ahead.
The fourth quarter still had to be played. Collison outran everyone down the floor on a break, and Daniels threw a long outlet pass, which Collison finished with a fingerroll layup and a three-point play to tie the score at 95 (9:09). Daniels hit Collison with an alley-oop layup on the next possession to give the Sonics the lead that had escaped them since the opening minutes of the half. After Brad Miller threw a pass out of bounds, Ray Allen pulled up from the left side and sank a shot, putting the finishing touches on a 15-3 Seattle run, and the Sonics led 99-95 with 8:15 left. Allen hit a three from the right side with Maurice Evans all over him to make it 102-97 with 7:31 to go. Stojakovic was fouled by James and hit a couple free throws to make it 102-99 (6:48).
Sacramento got to within two points, though. Brad Miller powered to the rack and abused Radmanovic for a layup, Bibby hit a free throw (but not both), and then drove to the basket for a layup to make it 106-104 with 5:16 remaining in the game. That made it a great time for a 7-0 Rashard Lewis run. Lewis hit a baseline hook from the right side, hit a couple free throws, and nailed a three from the left side to make it 113-104 with 3:28 to go. James grabbed an offensive board and was fouled, sinking a couple of free throws to make it 115-106 (3:01). In what could have been very pivotal, Nick Collison was fouled down low by Brad Miller, and then missed both of his free throws. Even more pivotal, Brad Miller grabbed the rebound of the second free throw and stumbled out of bounds. Daniels hit a couple free throws a few seconds later (119-111, 1:41), but the Kings weren't done yet.
The Kings mounted a 7-1 run in the final two minutes. Mike Bibby hit a jumper and a couple of free throws, and the Kings got a second chance on a possession, and Peja Stojakovic hit a three to make it crazy and also make it 120-118 with 36.5 seconds left in the game.
The Sonics led by only two with 36.5 seconds left. After signaling everyone else away from the ball, Allen worked through Maurice Evans on his way to the basket, as well as Miller and Stojakovic under the basket for a layup to seal the game and the series. Antonio Daniels dove out of bounds for a tipped offensive rebound on the last Sacramento possession. It eventually ended with Bibby missing a three from the right side. Lewis grabbed the rebound and stood on the baseline with the ball raised high in the air with one hand.
PEEK AT THE BOXSCORE
starters
Ray Allen 30 pts/2 reb/6 ast (12-20 FG, 4-6 3pt, 2-2 free throws, 43 min), Rashard Lewis 24 pts/7 reb/4 ast (7-13 FG, 3-5 3pt, 7-8 free throws, 42 min), Luke Ridnour 10 pts/6 reb/6 ast (5-10 FG, 28 min), Reggie Evans 10 pts/5 reb (3-5 FG, 4-5 free throws, 17 min)
bench
Nick Collison 15 pts/9 reb (6-6 FG, 3-7 free throws, 25 min), Antonio Daniels 14 pts/3 reb/8 ast (3-7 FG, 8-8 free throws, 24 min), Vladimir Radmanovic 6 pts/4 reb (2-8 FG, 1-4 3pt, 1-2 free throws, 25 min), Danny Fortson 2 pts (2-2 free throws, 8 min)
Jerome James Watch
11 pts/6 reb (4-6 FG, 3-4 free throws, 1 turnover, 5 fouls, 28 min)
team
shot 42-for-75 (56%) from the floor, shot 8-for-17 (47.1%) from downtown, shot 30-for-38 (78.9%) from the line, badly outrebounded Sacramento 43-25, turned ball over 14 times for 20 Sacramento points (SAC only 7 for 4), beat Sacramento 46-38 in the paint (lost 16-14 on the break), bench outscored Sacramento bench 37-18 (outrebounded them 17-6)
Jerome James stepped aside a bit, but the Sonics were able to win without another freakish game from the garbage-bag man. Ray Allen didn't go off in this one either, and it turns out 30 points is just another night for him. The great story of the Sonic starters, though, is Rashard Lewis, who hadn't really emerged as a huge factor in the series until the clincher. He had the 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter all to himself, for goodness' sake. That's seven of his 24 right there.
I hope Nick Collison stays in a Sonic uniform for many years, and I hope he (along with Reggie Evans) works on his free throws this offseason. That might be the only real flaw in his game. The non-flaws seem to be his moving without the basketball, setting screens, and always seeming to be in the right places on the floor. He was also great on the glass in this game. I guess it's all part of the high basketball IQ, but man, I hope I get to see many years from this guy. Remember, he did put up a few double-doubles during the regular season.
I was seriously afraid for the Sonics after that third quarter. Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic were just shooting the bejeezus out of the ball. I guess the shameful thing for Sacramento is that they shot 51.2% from the floor and scored 118 points altogether, and they still lost. You're not going to win many basketball games by giving up 122 points. On the Sonics' end, they also can't expect to win many games by giving up 118 either, but all they needed was a win. They allowed 33 points in the 2nd quarter and 36 in the 3rd. The Sonics were amazingly consistent with their quarter-to-quarter scoring, though, with 29, 31, 30, and 32.
We saw the emergence of Jerome James in this series and Rashard Lewis got going for the first time, but I don't think the offense will truly be in full swing until Vladimir Radmanovic becomes a factor. I like the way he passes the ball, and he has that ability to pumpfake a three and then dribble to the rack for a dunk. It's weird because it seems like he's barreling along slowly as it happens, but it's actually pretty quick. If they manage to get Radmanovic going, though, this next series could be a whole lot of fun.
You know, this is a special team, and one of the few rewards I've had over the last few months of a jobless state is that I've been able to track this team from game to game. Given the contract status of a big portion of the team, just enjoy what this group of guys is doing. Enjoy that they're a 3rd-seed Western Conference semifinal team that got there despite being picked to finish last in their division. Enjoy that different guys step up to augment Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen every night. Enjoy that they play an exciting brand of basketball.
Enjoy all of it, because next year, the players wearing the green and gold could have entirely different faces. Though I don't want to think about it, even the coach might be prowling the sidelines for a different team.
Just soak this up.
I asked Jinkies if he'd be confused if he went fishing with Peja Stojakovic in the offseason, since Stojakovic shares the same first name as his owner. His reply: "Prrrrrrrrrrski. Prrrrrrrrrrrski. Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrski. Prrrrrrrrrrrrrski."
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