Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | Apr. 20, 2005
When the Seattle SuperSonics last squared off with the Sacramento Kings in the NBA playoffs, their opponent was not so much the Kings as it was recent franchise history.
On paper, the series was a mismatch of the highest order. The Sonics had won a franchise-record 64 games in the regular season to earn the first seed in the Western Conference, while the Kings had snuck into the playoffs despite a sub-.500 record. But there was a catch - each of the previous two seasons, the Sonics had lost to a lower-seeded team in the first round playoffs, producing questions about whether Coach George Karl's style could work in the post-season.
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Gary Payton led the Sonics with 20.8 points and 7.0 assists in 1996 against the Kings.
Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty
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The Sonics would open the series without All-Star Shawn Kemp after the forward was involved in an altercation with Denver's Tom Hammonds on the last day of the regular season. But the Kings had bigger issues; playing the first playoff game since the franchise moved to Sacramento, they were nervous in the early going as the Sonics scored the game's first nine points. The Kings kept it close, but the Sonics pulled out a 97-85 victory behind 29 points and nine rebounds from Gary Payton.
The opening win produced a controversy of its own: Were the Sonics better off without Kemp? So wondered a feature in the Seattle Times on the morning of Sunday's Game 2.
"We missed Shawn," an anonymous teammate told the Times, "but we also played a smart game without him."
"You can read between the lines, can't you?" he elaborated.
Needless to say, a 90-81 loss in Game 2 that shifted home-court advantage to the Kings did nothing to ease concerns in Seattle, particularly about Kemp. Though he scored 21 points in his return, Kemp committed nine turnovers, including several costly ones in a fourth quarter that saw Sacramento outscore the Sonics 25-14.
"I think we felt like when we won one game, it's all heaven and glory for us," said reserve center Sam Perkins. "That's not the case. Your mind has to be there, too."
The Sonics traveled to hostile ARCO Arena in Sacramento knowing a loss would further flame the talk of them being "chokers" in the playoffs. It was a scenario that nearly came to fruition, with the Sonics trailing 83-75 with 5:49 left in the game and Kemp on the bench in foul trouble. But the Sonics held the Kings without a field goal for nearly five minutes and went on a 17-3 run to seize command of the game.
In Game 4, as the city of Seattle was rocked by a minor earthquake, the Sonics finished off Sacramento. They got a break when Kings All-Star Mitch Richmond sprained his ankle and was sidelined for the game with 5:29 left in the first half. Without Richmond, the Kings shot just 40.5%, though little-used Lionel Simmons came off the bench to score 24 points. Meanwhile, Payton scored 17 of his 29 points in the second half as the Sonics pulled out a 101-87 victory.
After the game, the Sonics rejoiced at getting the monkey off their collective back.
"It's great to just get this gorilla, or whatever you want to call it, off our backs," said Nate McMillan. "That jinx or that spell, or whatever you want to call it, has been removed for right now."
"It was a great relief to get the monkey off our shoulder," said Kemp. "Now we can just relax and play our style of basketball."
