For the Kings tonight, the question marks are not strategic so much as they are psychological. Teams usually go two directions when they trail 3-1 in a series, either finding new resolve and scrapping harder than they ever have before or essentially conceding defeat and mailing in Game 5. There are examples of both scenarios in the recent Sonics past. In the 1996 Western Conference Finals, the Sonics led Utah 3-1 coming home with a chance to advance to the NBA Finals. But Utah won in overtime and blew the Sonics out in Game 6 before Seattle won the series at home in Game 7. The next year, the Sonics were in the other role, heading to Houston down 3-1 but rallying to win two in a row before dropping Game 7. A year later, the Sonics lost four in a row after winning the first game of their Semifinal series with the L.A. Lakers and were lifeless in Game 5, trailing by 16 after one quarter and losing 110-95.

The Sonics must guard against overconfidence, something that didn't appear to be an issue at Monday's practice. Coach Nate McMillan has his charges believing they must match the Kings' scrappiness in this game and play the kind of defense that limited Sacramento to but 34 points in the second half on Sunday. From a strategic standpoint, we may see Kings Coach Rick Adelman alter his rotation yet again. Corliss Williamson stepped into a larger role in Game 4, but was neutralized when the Sonics went to Nick Collison at power forward in the fourth quarter. After playing virtually the entire final period, Collison has presumably earned the right to more minutes up front this evening.

G U A R D S
	After a seeming breakout Game 3, Mike Bibby struggled with his shooting again in Game 4, shooting just 4-for-17 from the field. Bibby had seven rebounds and seven assists, but his inability to create his own offense hurt the Kings in the fourth quarter. Bibby did cause the Sonics problems at the end of quarters coming off of screens, something they worked on during Monday's practice. Sonics guard Luke Ridnour had a quiet night statistically (eight points, four assists) but deserves much of the credit for Bibby's poor shooting.
	Ray Allen made this his series with his performance in Game 4. Already having scored 25 points or more in each of the first three games, Allen exploded for a playoff career high 45 on Sunday, tying the Sonics playoff record. Allen was 17-for-28 from the field and 6-for-14 from downtown. He scored 26 points in the second half alone and is now the leading scorer in these playoffs at 33 points per game. Cuttino Mobley, forced to chase Allen around at the defensive end (fruitlessly), had his worst shooting night of the series, scoring 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting.
F O R W A R D S
	Both small forwards bounced back with strong Game 4 performances after struggling earlier in the series. Rashard Lewis scored 19 points for the Sonics, but more important was the physical way he played in the paint. Lewis got to the free-throw line 12 times, making 11 of his attempts, and pulled down eight rebounds. It's particularly important for the Sonics to get that kind of play from Lewis when they go small. Peja Stojakovic led the Kings with 27 points, but there were still some questions about his performance as only six came after intermission.
	The first-half effort from Sonics forward Reggie Evans was disappointing. The NBA's best rebounder, Evans pulled down only one board in the first half and struggled on defense. He was more active after halftime, helping set the tone for the Sonics comeback. Sacramento's Kenny Thomas dominated when the Sonics went small. Thomas had a game-high 14 rebounds, five of them offensive, and added 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting. Thomas has been a key for the Kings in this series.
C E N T E R
	Sonics center Jerome James continues to be a consistent presence in the middle in this series. James' offense and rebounding have been relatively metronomic: 17, 19, 22 and 17 points; 15 rebounds, then 9, 9 and 8. His defensive presence has not been as consistent, but James stepped up in Game 4, blocking four shots and shutting down the paint in the second half. Brad Miller hurt the Sonics early with his perimeter shooting ability, but was quiet thereafter, finishing with 15 points and only five rebounds.
B E N C H
	The Sacramento bench got a surprising effort from Williamson (right), who scored 12 points in as many minutes. Williamson took advantage of Danny Fortson's reputation amongst referees to get six free-throw attempts. The other two Kings reserves who saw action, guard Bobby Jackson and forward Darius Songaila, were quiet. Jackson was held scoreless in 15 minutes of action. Fortson scored six points himself, but is becoming difficult to play because he is prone to drawing fouls. Collison (left) stepped up in Fortson's place, contributing five points and drawing three critical charges in the fourth quarter. Antonio Daniels was also big for the Sonics, playing 21 turnover-free minutes and finishing with seven points and six assists. Vladimir Radmanovic scored eight points, but was a liability on the defensive glass.

TEAM LEADERS ALLEN STOJAKOVIC Allen 33.0 PPG Stojakovic 18.0 James 10.8 RPG Thomas 9.5 Allen 5.0 APG Bibby 5.8 Allen 2.3 SPG Mobley 1.5 James 2.8 BPG Skinner 1.3 Allen 42.0 MPG Stojakovic 40.3