Live From The Press Box - Sonics vs. Minnesota
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Sonics Win!
Posted at 10:05 p.m.
Another remarkable win for the Sonics in a season that has already been chock-full of them. During the fourth quarter, the Sonics outscored Minnesota 34-19 to end up with what looks like a fairly resounding 98-88 win. The focus will be on the offense, which return to the tune of 63 points in the second half, but let me briefly mention that the Sonics held a third straight opponent under 90 points, and Minnesota is a pretty good offensive team that ran up 112 points the last time these teams met. The Timberwolves got just 19 points and Kevin Garnett four during the fourth quarter. That’s impressive, and it means the Sonics expand their Northwest Division lead to a commanding 12.5 games.
Detroit Next Friday
Posted at 10:00 p.m.
After a three-game tour of the Midwest, the Sonics return to KeyArena a week from tonight to host the defending NBA Champion Detroit Pistons in what promises to be a great showdown.
Get your tickets now!
Ray Allen
Posted at 9:55 p.m.
Do we take this guy for granted sometimes? Allen drives the lane for a layup to put the Sonics back up eight as we move inside the final minute of play. Ray has 16 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. By contrast, Kevin Garnett has scored just four in the final period, though he’s at 31 for the game. Rashard Lewis distressingly misses a pair of free throws, but time is still on the Sonics side with 56.9 seconds on the clock.
Bombs Away
Posted at 9:53 p.m.
Ray Allen pulls up in transition and fires in the Sonics sixth three-pointer of the final period. They were 3-for-14 in the first three quarters beyond the arc, but are 6-for-7 here in the period. The Sonics lead 92-83, but Latrell Sprewell is at the line for Minnesota.
All-Star Move
Posted at 9:48 p.m.
Ray Allen sets up on the right side of the court beyond the three-point line and waves Rashard Lewis over to screen for him. Lewis picks off both defenders and Allen easily strolls to the free-throw line, where he buries a jumper and is fouled by (who else?) Wally Szczerbiak. 88-83 Sonics pending the free throw, and Kevin McHale once more takes time with 3:26 to play.
Incidentally …
Posted at 9:47 p.m.
82games.com informs me that Fred Hoiberg’s recent dunk was just his third of the season. Vlade bombs in another three to unbreak an 83-83 tie.
Much Better
Posted at 9:44 p.m.
Vlade Radmanovic’s wrist must be feeling a great deal better. His second three of the fourth quarter beats the shot-block buzzer and gives the Sonics a four-point lead. After a Kevin Garnett score, the Sonics call timeout leading 83-81 with 5:04 showing on the clock and a raucous sellout crowd behind them.
Sharpshooters
Posted at 9:39 p.m.
McHale has correctly gone small, putting three-point specialists Fred Hoiberg and Wally Szczerbiak, along with guards Troy Hudson and Latrell Sprewell, around Kevin Garnett in the lineup. The Sonics gave up too many open threes to this group in the last matchup at KeyArena, but they’re defending better tonight (though each of Hoiberg and Szczerbiak has hit an open three this quarter) and are taking advantage at the other end. Antonio Daniels splits two free throws to tie the game at 77.
Within Two
Posted at 9:35 p.m.
The Timberwolves go back up five, but Ray Allen knocks down a three off a Vladimir Radmanovic three and Wally Szczerbiak, for the second time tonight, travels on the other end. The crowd absolutely loves it, but Kevin McHale does not, and he takes a timeout to talk it over. 74-72 Minnesota with 9:16 to play.
Half-Court Success
Posted at 9:32 p.m.
After Radmanovic’s shot, John Thomas nearly banked in a three from halfcourt at the third-quarter buzzer. During the period break, Sonics fans shot from various locations in a contest sponsored by the Washington State Lottery, and the second shooter nailed his second attempt from halfourt to win courtside tickets to a future game.
Vladimir Radmanovic’s last shot was from slightly closer, but his quarter-opening three brought the Sonics within two. Sam Cassell answer with a long jumper and has scored six points in the last couple of minutes.
Momentum
Posted at 9:29 p.m.
The Sonics will enter the final 12 minutes of action with momentum firmly on their side after closing to within five points, 69-64, with a late first quarter run. Vladimir Radmanovic’s jumper with seconds to go pulled the Sonics within five. After combining for six points in the first half, Radmanovic and Rashard Lewis had 16 in the third quarter (of the Sonics 29, to the Timberwolves 25). The crowd is very much in the game and the Sonics have life.
T’d Up
Posted at 9:26 p.m.
To the incalculable delight of the KeyArena crowd, Wally Szczerbiak has finally been assessed a technical for his near-constant chirping at the referees. Give Rashard Lewis, who drew the foul that provoked Szczerbiak’s complaint, credit for going hard at the basket during this quarter. He has 13 points in the period, and is 5-for-6 at the line. The bad news is Sam Cassell is heating up for the Timberwolves.
Respect
Posted at 9:21 p.m.
With his team in the bonus, Kevin Garnett has three times this quarter drawn non-shooting fouls and gotten two free throws out of it. Unfortunately, Nick Collison can’t body up Garnett defensively without drawing a foul, which has necessitated Vitaly Potaepnko’s return to the game.
One of Those Nights?
Posted at 9:14 p.m.
With James on the bench, the Sonics offense has once again cooled, and Minnesota has extended its lead to its largest point tonight, 56-42. It looks like it just might be one of those nights for the Sonics, and you can’t really complain about the offense of a team that ranks second in the league in points scored per possession (not that it will stop people). The Sonics could use the shooting of UW’s Tre Simmons, who is in the house tonight and had 29 points last night against ASU, making six of his seven three-point attempts.
A Nick Collison layup and a Ray Allen dunk + phantom foul on Trenton Hassell got the Sonics briefly within single-digits, but Kevin Garnett has followed with a pair of free throws.
JJ
Posted at 9:05 p.m.
Jerome James has a nice fire tonight, scoring four points in the early minutes of the third quarter to give him eight for the game (after he went scoreless on the Sonics two-game road trip) and get the crowd into the game. Unfortunately, James picks up his fourth foul a little over three minutes into the quarter, and he’s now been replaced by Nick Collison. Collison has done some things lately and will get a chance to provide some scoring in the paint here.
First-Half Stats
Posted at 8:58 p.m.
I think it’s fair to say that if two Sonics players are key indicators of how the team is playing, those two players would be Rashard Lewis and Vladimir Radmanovic. Lewis is 1-for-7 and has two points. Radmanovic is 1-for-4 for four points (though, to his credit, Vlade has five boards). Any further questions as to why the Sonics shot 26.1% in the first half? Minnesota shot better than I would have guessed (17-for-33, 51.5%), but the Sonics forced 10 turnovers. This crowd seems ready to explode if the Sonics can put together a run early in the second half. We’ll see.
Forgettable Half
Posted at 8:42 p.m.
The Sonics go into halftime trailing fairly big, 44-35. Clearly, this was a first half to forget for the Sonics, who could never find any offensive momentum. No Sonics are in double-figures at the half. The last 10 seconds proved a microcosm, Ray Allen’s open three swirling off the rim, Jerome James being called for a highly questionable loose-ball foul (that resulted in a Timberwolves free throw) and Luke Ridnour missing a long two at the buzzer.
Incidentally, the player James fouled was Minnesota reserve big man Mark Madsen. In news I’m sure you were awaiting as breathlessly as was I, Madsen was activated off the injured list today when Eddie Griffin was put on IR with a broken finger suffered in last night’s loss to the Clippers. To the delight of the crowd, Madsen airballed his first free throw before making the second.
Fortson Out
Posted at 8:38 p.m.
We’ve been remiss in not mentioning that while Danny Fortson is in the house and dressed, he is very unlikely to play in tonight’s game after missing yesterday’s practice to briefly visit his grandmother in the hospital in Pennsylvania. Nate McMillan said before the game that his reasoning was that Potapenko has yet to practice since Feb. 10, first because of NBA suspension and then because of his grandmother’s illness, but he was also very coy in answering the media’s inquiries.
It’s difficult to imagine the Sonics could have gotten anything more out of Fortson than they’ve gotten from Vitaly Potapenko, who had eight points off the bench during this quarter. Potapenko got a very nice hand when he checked out of the game with just about a minute to play in the first half.
KG Show
Posted at 8:33 p.m.
On the Timberwolves last possession, Kevin Garnett took Vitaly Potapenko baseline off of a face-off, went under the basket and dunked on the other side, as Marv Albert might say,
with authority. Garnett currently has 17 points and nine rebounds. The Sonics have 29 points; Garnett’s teammates have 19. Do you think he might want to win this game?
Boom Squad
Posted at 8:29 p.m.
The Sonics Boom Squad delivers another performance that brings the KeyArena crowd to life. As you may have heard, the four Sonics players in Denver over the weekend were not the only ones representing them during All-Star festivities, as the Boom Squad performed throughout the weekend. Congrats to all!
New Lineup
Posted at 8:24 p.m.
The Sonics have on the court a lineup I can’t imagine has seen the court together all season: Flip Murray at the point, starters Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis on the wings, Vladimir Radmanovic at power forward and Vitaly Potapenko in the middle. This group, with good reason, hasn’t looked particularly cohesive thus far on offense, but Potapenko has scored on the Sonics last two possessions to give them some semblance of an offense. His scores bring the Sonics up to 26.5% shooting. This can’t possibly continue.
Pot Sighting
Posted at 8:17 p.m.
A couple of minutes into the second quarter, center Vitaly Potapenko has checked into the game. Potapenko has been little-used this season, but he was effective in an extended effort against Houston (and specifically Yao Ming) on Tuesday. There isn’t as obvious of a matchup for Potapenko this time, so it will be interesting to see how he performs. Incidentally, for those who question Kevin Garnett’s heart with his team struggling, he has 11 points and seven rebounds in 12 minutes of action. Not too shabby.
After One Quarter
Posted at 8:10 p.m.
The Sonics trail by five, 21-16. Nate McMillan has to be pretty pleased with his team’s defensive performance, as they’ve held the Timberwolves largely in check, but the offense hasn’t been there to back it up. The Sonics shot less than 33.3% from the field in the first half, and got just eight points from players not named “Ray Allen” Don’t underrate the role in that of Vladimir Radmanovic’s sprained wrist. Asked the results of further examination of the wrist, Vlade joked before the game he’d been told to cut it off. Seriously, X-rays were negative, but Radmanovic’s shot has been off the mark lately. That’s hurt the Sonics, who rely on Radmanovic to exploit mismatches.
Celebrity Spotting
Posted at 8:04 p.m.
Lauren Jackson drew a loud round of applause when introduced to the crowd at the last timeout. She’s far from the only star in attendance, as we have a pair of Husky coaches in the house. Instead of preparing for tomorrow’s enormous matchup with the University of Arizona that could decide the Pac-10 Championship, UW basketball coach Lorenzo Romar is on the baseline. On the sideline is new football coach Tyrone Willingham.
They Remember
Posted at 7:58 p.m.
In tonight’s Insider Preview, I wondered whether fans would remember Wally Szczerbiak’s childish antics the last time the Timberwolves were in Seattle, when he should have drawn a technical but didn’t for pounding the ball off the floor - and was also busy jawing with fans and the referees alike. Clearly they do remember; Szczerbiak was soundly booed when he checked into the game a moment ago. The fans are loud, but they haven’t had a ton to cheer about thus far as the Timberwolves lead it 18-12. Ray Allen has eight of the Sonics 12 points.
Behind the scenes note: Antonio Daniels tested Associate Head Coach Dwane Casey on whether he could correctly spell Szczerbiak while putting the gameplan on the whiteboard in the Sonics locker room. Casey nailed it.
Slow Start
Posted at 7:52 p.m.
The Sonics are working during the early minutes of tonight’s game, but without much reward for their efforts. Trailing 8-2, Nate McMillan decides he doesn’t like the feel and takes a timeout. The Sonics respond with a 7-2 run to get back in the game. The Sonics have finished surprisingly poorly thus far, but the counterpoint is they’ve gotten a lot of good looks at the rim against a pretty weak defensive club.
Gone Red
Posted at 7:40 p.m.
Tonight is Go Red For Women Night at KeyArena, sponsored by KeyBank, and fans have received red glowsticks to remind them of the importance of fighting heart disease amongst women. This was quite obvious during the National Anthem and as the starting lineups were introduced, as a sea of red was apparent in the stands of a darkened Key.
Signing On
Posted at 7:40 p.m.
Apologies for my tardiness in beginning tonight's Live From The Press Box, but I have a pretty good excuse - Storm forward and 2003 WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson, who re-signed for the 2005 season earlier this week, was conducting an interview just before the game. LJ reports she'll be in Seattle through the start of the season, having almost certainly ruled out playing in Russia as she did last year. Look for much, much more on LJ on storm.wnba.com next week. As for the Sonics, they face the second-place Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at KeyArena, looking to extend a Northwest Division lead that already numbers 11.5 games. Stay tuned all night for the latest from KeyArena.
