Rashard Lewis

Game 3 was an odd one in that both teams came away feeling they could have played much better. For the Spurs, the obvious culprit was free throws. The Spurs shot only 19-for-34 from the free-throw line, many of those costly 15 misses coming in the fourth quarter. In a one-point game, every missed point looms large. For the Sonics, they can point to the off night All-Star guard Ray Allen had, shooting 6-for-23 from the field and scoring none of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Allen felt after reviewing tape that he got good looks, but just did not knock them down.

While the Spurs don't like to make a lot of adjustments on defense, they may have no choice but to do so if Lewis is out of the lineup or limited. The Sonics have already struggled from 3-point range, and without Lewis as a threat, Allen is the only player San Antonio really needs to worry about from downtown. That could allow the Spurs to bring over an extra defender to help on the roll player in pick-and-roll situations. Jerome James got six dunks and shot 7-for-7 from the field because the Spurs were aggressive defending the player with the ball.

On the San Antonio side of things, the Sonics may not have a lot of adjustments left to make. They played off of Tony Parker in Game 3 and he was quieter, but still was able to get into the lane and finish with 18 points and eight assists. Tim Duncan still hasn't had a dominating game yet in this series, though he has definitely dominated in stretches. The Sonics will hope to put that off at least one more game.

G U A R D S
	The Sonics defensive strategy on Parker was successful to the extent that Parker's shooting from the floor (8-for-18), while still good, was not as efficient as the games in San Antonio. Parker did a fine job of finding open teammates, handing out eight assists - the most by any player in this series thus far. Sonics point guard Luke Ridnour played a solid 42 minutes, scoring nine points and handing out five assists. Ridnour will probably see heavy minutes again today.
	Returning to Seattle, Spurs guard Brent Barry was quiet, scoring seven points on five shots. Barry hit a couple of momentum 3-pointers, but missed a chance to put San Antonio ahead late in the game. Allen shot only 6-for-23 from the field and did force a few looks against the Spurs defense and Duncan, but he also missed some looks he usually makes. Allen was 1-for-8 from 3 and is due to get hot from downtown after shooting 4-for-16 on 3s in the first three games of this series.
F O R W A R D S
	San Antonio defensive specialist Bruce Bowen was able to play his game in Game 3, drawing only three fouls in 39 minutes of action. Bowen deserves credit for Allen's off night, but he has been a non-factor offensively in this series, shooting 1-for-6 on Thursday. If Lewis is unable to play, Sonics Coach Nate McMillan could go small with Antonio Daniels or start rookie Damien Wilkins.
	The Sonics made Duncan earn his points at the free-throw line in Game 3, sending him to the line 15 times. Duncan made only nine of those shots. Forced to the perimeter more than he would like, Duncan also shot less than 50% from the field (7-for-16). So despite the fact that Duncan scored 23 points, the Sonics defended him about as well as they can expect to. Reggie Evans left Thursday's game early because of a back contusion, but Evans says he will definitely play today.
C E N T E R
	Spurs center Nazr Mohammed was effective in Game 3, making all three of his shots and scoring seven points, but he saw only 16 minutes of action because of the Sonics smallball attack. Will Mohammed see more action tonight? James was one of the stories of Game 3 after hitting all seven of his shots and scoring 15 points. James also did a fine job on Duncan defensively before fouling out late in the game.
B E N C H
	Manu Ginobili (right) was the most efficient of the Spurs Big 3 in Game 3, scoring 18 points on 11 shot attempts as he got to the free-throw line 10 times. But Ginobili, usually one of San Antonio's best free-throw shooters, was not immune to his team's woes at the line, missing two key tries late. Robert Horry played 26 minutes for the Spurs, scoring 11 points and hitting three 3-pointers. Sonics guard Daniels (left) had another huge game off the bench, scoring 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and hitting all 12 of his free-throw attempts (so that's why San Antonio let him go). Rookie Nick Collison scored the go-ahead basket late and had 10 points and six rebounds. Vitaly Potapenko was also a hero off the bench, forcing Duncan into a miss on the last play of the game and defending him well in the first half.

TEAM LEADERS ALLEN DUNCAN Allen/Lewis 17.7 PPG Duncan 23.3 Evans 8.3 RPG Duncan 9.7 Daniels 4.0 APG Parker 6.0 Daniels/Ridnour 1.3 SPG Parker 1.7 James 1.7 BPG Duncan 3.7 Lewis 39.0 MPG Parker 37.7

The Sonics are 1-0 in this series when neither Allen nor Lewis scores in the fourth quarter.

INJURIES

Sonics - Forward Rashard Lewis (sprained left big toe) is a game-time decision. Forward Vladimir Radmanovic (sprained right ankle) is out.

San Antonio - None.

For more analysis before tonight's game, listen to David Locke on the Sonics Pregame Show starting at 3:20 on KJR 950 AM and 3:30 on Sonics Radio Network stations.