Live From The Press Box - Sonics vs. L.A. Lakers
Want to enjoy the electricity of being Live at the Hardwood even if you're thousands of miles away? SUPERSONICS.COM's Live From the Press Box in-game blog is your best bet. All night and all season long, Kevin Pelton will be bringing you pregame Q&As and observations from the game. Make sure to keep coming back or refreshing so you get the latest content.
Sonics Run It to 18-4
Posted at 9:22 p.m.
The final Live From the Hardwood at KeyArena: Sonics 108, 93. Win number 18 is in the books, and this was an outstanding one. Rashard Lewis upstaged the Kobe Bryant-Ray Allen duel, but the most important result is the Sonics continuing to avoid a losing streak this season. Be sure to watch FSN Live or listen to the Sonics Postgame Show on KJR 950 AM with David Locke and Dick Fain. Tonight’s postgame guest is none other than Rashard Lewis.
Phoenix Friday
Posted at 9:20 p.m.
If you like good basketball, you have no excuse not to be at KeyArena Friday, when the two teams with the NBA’s best records, the Phoenix Suns and your Seattle SuperSonics, stage a nationally-televised showdown. Not only are these teams two of the NBA’s best and its biggest surprises, they’re also two of the most entertaining to watch.
Get your tickets before they’re gone!
Jello Jigglin’
Posted at 9:17 p.m.
Against Chick Hearn’s old team, how can we do anything but put this win in the refrigerator? With two minutes to play, the Sonics have pushed the lead to 15, 104-89. Give credit to the Lakers, who played hard all night long and never let the Sonics run away with this one, but the Sonics were simply too good on this night. How fun is that to say?
Vlade
Posted at 9:03 p.m.
Back-to-back threes bring the Lakers within nine, drawing a Nate McMillan timeout. Vladimir Radmanovic coolly nails a triple, then takes a great Ray Allen feed and drops in a layup to push the lead back to 14. Well played, Vlade, well played.
Phew
Posted at 8:57 p.m.
You had to think with the kind of fall he took that Antonio Daniels might have broken his wrist trying to break his foul. Daniels plays on.
To the Fourth Quarter
Posted at 8:55 p.m.
The Sonics hold what seems like a comfortable 80-66 lead as we head to the final 12 minutes of action. They extended their lead by six during the period, holding Kobe Bryant to just five points. Even though only Bryant is on the court as we open the fourth, let’s lead with this Nate McMillan quote about his matchup with Ray Allen:
“He’s played good games against Kobe, and Kobe’s played good games against him. He didn’t shoot the ball well last game. Our gameplan is to make Kobe work defensively. I’m sure they’re going to make Ray work on the defensive end. Any time you have a guy like him, you don’t allow him to just rest on defense and attack you on the offensive side of the floor. Good players, they play well in big games, and this is certainly an important game for us.”
Tale of Two No. 7s
Posted at 8:50 p.m.
Both the Sonics and the Lakers start forwards who wear number seven and are their second-leading scorer. And their evenings couldn’t have been much different so far. Lamar Odom of the Lakers looked very frustrated after fouling Danny Fortson a second ago. He’s got just eight points and shot 2-for-6 in the first half. Meanwhile, the Sonics Rashard Lewis. This has been a great game for Lewis, who has understood the flow of the game and how his teammates are doing ad known precisely when to aggressively look for his own shot.
Back and Forth
Posted at 8:43 p.m.
This has frankly been something of a mundane quarter, in that neither team has been able to make much of a run. I don’t believe the Sonics lead has gotten below nine or above 14 at any point. The most notable development was Jerome James picking up two fouls on one Lakers possession, giving him five for the game and forcing him to the sideline, having already scored a season-high 12 points. Allen has carried the Sonics in this quarter, scoring 11 points, while Bryant has deferred to his teammates, who have scored 15 of the Lakers 20 points.
Td Up
Posted at 8:33 p.m.
Those watching on TV may have a better idea of who the technical foul assessed officially to the “Seattle bench” was really on. The smart money in the press box says assistant coach Jack Sikma.
Little Plays
Posted at 8:30 p.m.
Ray Allen’s dunk attempt is blocked away, but Reggie Evans alertly throws out a hand and deflects the ball to Luke Ridnour, who immediately bounces it to Allen, who hits a three. It’s a cliché, of course, but that wins ball games and it’s never going to appear in the box score.
First-Half Stats
Posted at 8:26 p.m.
By far the most telling thing on the stat sheet - 15 assists for the Sonics, just four for Los Angeles. Any guesses how many Kobe had? Yep, zero.
Halftime
Posted at 8:08 p.m.
For all the good feelings of the first half, the Sonics go in leading by only 10, 53-43. Kobe Bryant, who has been every bit a one-man show this evening, scoring 21 of the Lakers 43 points, got hot down the stretch to pull the Lakers back in the game. There’s still a long ways to go in this one. However, if the Sonics continue shutting down everyone else and moving the ball as they did in the first half (Luke Ridnour had seven assists), they’re in good shape.
Ukraine Train!
Posted at 8:04 p.m.
Jerome James has had a good run, so it’s time for a blow before the end of the half. In comes Vitaly Potapenko, making his first regular-season appearance after missing the first 20 games of the season with a fractured bone in his right hand. Vitaly is wearing a glove on his hand, but he’s ready to go.
Freight Train is Coming Through!
Posted at 7:59 p.m.
That’s what I used to say a couple of years ago when Jerome James threw down a true rim-shaking dunk. While, he got his third of the night a minute ago, and Vlade Radmanovic would have had another one had he not hit it off the back of the rim. Kobe is usually more defensive with the media than he and the Lakers have been against the Sonics tonight.51-33 Sonics with 2:31 to play in the period. James has tied his season high of eight points with a mere 26:31 left to play.
Great D!
Posted at 7:58 p.m.
Rashard Lewis catches at the right elbow, standing with a foot on the three-point line. He pauses. He lifts his foot. He steps back. He pauses again. Still no L.A. Lakers came towards him. Finally Lewis shoots - splash. The Sonics lead 49-33 and Lewis has 22. Time out Rudy T.
Romey Rome
Posted at 7:53 p.m.
Jerome James has got it all working tonight. He spins away from contact and banks in a runner off glass from the left side of the paint. Six points for James, and the Sonics hold a 44-31 lead. Side note - and I know this interests me more than anyone else out there - Flip Murray and Ibo Kutluay have been standing, not sitting, most of this quarter. Any guesses how many Lakers players are standing?
Credit
Posted at 7:49 p.m.
Say what you want about Kobe and how he’s playing this season, but he just worked hard for two free throws, getting two offensive rebounds before finally being fouled. Shortly before being replaced by Ray Allen, Flip Murray came off some backpicks to get free in the right corner and knock down his first shot of the season.
Benched
Posted at 7:42 p.m.
For the first time this season that I can remember, the Sonics go to an all-reserve lineup to start the second quarter, with Antonio Daniels and Flip Murray in the backcourt, Vladimir Radmanovic and Danny Fortson at the forwards and Nick Collison in the middle. Few teams in the NBA can get away without a starter, but the Sonics are clearly one of them; there’s more than enough scoring punch to go around in this group, though two offensive fouls take them out of their rhythm early on.
Remember Me?
Posted at 7:38 p.m.
All the pre-game hoopla focused on Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant, but Rashard Lewis would like to take this opportunity (and by “this opportunity”, I mean the first quarter) to remind us there’s a third 20-point-per-game scorer on the court this evening. Sweet Lew strokes in back-to-back treys to conclude the period and has 17 points to Bryant’s 11 and Allen’s 9 after one quarter. The Sonics, meanwhile, have a 32-23 lead and the momentum.
Flip Sighting
Posted at 7:30 p.m.
Ronald “Flip” Murray checks into the game at the 2:42 mark, his first appearance at KeyArena this season and just his second game of the season period. Murray, as promised, replaces Ray Allen and gets a big hand from the crowd. I knew this game was going to slow down, but this is a bit remarkable - after six-plus minutes, we had 38 total points. In the last four, we’ve had seven combined.
Ray v. Kobe
Posted at 7:25 p.m.
With five minutes left in the first quarter, Ray Allen has nine points, Kobe Bryant eight. Sometimes I can’t believe I’m getting paid to watch this kind of show and write about it. Back-to-back Rashard Lewis scores give the Sonics a four-point lead.
Throw It Down, Part II
Posted at 7:23 p.m.
Jerome James picks, then rolls for another monster flush. Without Shaq pounding him on the other end of the court, life is good for Jerome right now. At the under-six minutes media timeout, it’s 20-18 Sonics. This pace will cool, but right now we’re looking at about a 150-140 final.
Throw It Down
Posted at 7:19 p.m.
The Sonics get their second sweet dunk of the first half of the first quarter when Rashard Lewis goes baseline, under the basket and turns around while elevating for the jam on the other side of the basket. On defense, Jerome James makes a good , clean, hard foul on Chris Mihm looking for a throwdown. Reggie Evans and Lamar Odom were called for off-setting technicals in what has been a fast-moving game.
Good Start
Posted at 7:12 p.m.
On the first Sonics possession, Reggie Evans misses in the post, but Jerome James follows by flying through the air to tip-dunk the miss. It’s one of the most athletic moves we’ve ever seen from the big fella, who obviously is not missing Shaquille O’Neal on the other side. Kobe is getting booed every time he touches the ball. He trades scores with Ray Allen and it’s 4-2 Sonics.
Boo-o-Meter
Posted at 7:08 p.m.
Whenever the Lakers are in the house, you can count on a number of their fans heading out to KeyArena, particularly given the high concentration of Californians in this fair city. With the Lakers struggling and the Sonics on fire, it appeared the introduction of the Lakers starting vie was accompanied by more boos and fewer cheering than it usually is. The harshest booing was reserved for a 6-6 guard from Lower Merion High School, number eight, Kobe Bryant.
Meaningful Warmups
Posted at 7:00 p.m.
Usually, when the teams are out on the court warming up in the final 15 minutes before tip-off, it’s a time for me to finish my pre-game preparation, type quotes, whatever. Tonight, while doing that, I was trying to keep an eye on Lakers star Kobe Bryant, because I’ve heard it mentioned in the past that his teammates don’t really talk with Bryant during warm-ups. I’m not sure that’s the vibe I got. Kobe was hanging out by himself, certainly, but he briefly chatted with a few people, and it certainly didn’t seem like anyone was avoiding him or anything. I did observer that Sasha Vujacic looks less like an NBA player than anyone I’ve ever seen. He’s listed at 193 pounds, but I’m not buying that - he’s much lighter.
Signing On
Posted at 6:50 p.m.
These may not be the Pacific-leading Lakers of years past, but you wouldn’t know by the relative horde of media that has descended on KeyArena for tonight’s game. We were pretty close to a sellout a few hours ago, but you still might want to come down here and check for remaining tickets if you’re in the neighborhood. These still are the Lakers, and that always means electricity at the Key … especially given the kind of duel that’s anticipated between Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant.
