Live From The Press Box - Sonics vs. Orlando
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Sonics Win
Posted at 9:56 p.m.
In a scenario we’ve seen all too often the last couple of days in the NCAA Tournament, Chris Jent had his charges foul all the way into the final five seconds, but that couldn’t change the result, a 98-90 Sonics win. The beneficiary of the fouling was Ray Allen, who hit six free throws in the final minute to tie his season high with 38 points. That finished off a 98-90 victory. This was a game the Sonics had to win with Orlando struggling right now. It’s also important for the Sonics to prove to themselves they can play without Vladimir Radmanovic (and Jerome James and Danny Fortson) and re-assert their home-court advantage at KeyArena, where they’d lost three in a row. All in all, it’s a feel-good win.
Milwaukee Tuesday
Posted at 9:49 p.m.
After taking on the Lakers in L.A. Sunday, the Sonics are back in action at KeyArena Tuesday, hosting the Milwaukee Bucks. It's been a somewhat disappointing season for the Bucks, but Milwaukee still has a strong young core led by Michael Redd and former Sonics swingman Desmond Mason. The Sonics will be out for revenge after suffering a blowout loss in Milwaukee at the end of February.
Get your tickets now!
Sonics Take Control
Posted at 9:47 p.m.
Important defensive play by Kelvin Cato, who blocked Rashard Lewis’ shot and knocked it out of bounds off of Lewis to give Orlando a chance to cut the Sonics lead to one possession. But Grant Hill shot an airball and Antonio Daniels followed with a score. Steve Francis then traveled, and the Sonics just need to execute and hit their free throws to finish this one.
Pot Playing Big
Posted at 9:42 p.m.
The Sonics are getting some very nice minutes down the stretch here from Vitaly Potapenko. His jumper off of a pick-and-roll with Ray Allen gave the Sonics a four-point lead. Allen scored after Potapenko came up with the rebound in traffic on Orlando’s ensuing possession, giving the Sonics their largest lead of the period, 89-83. Now Flip Murray has made two big plays, getting a steal and taking a rebound away from Kelvin Cato under the basket. With Rashard Lewis heading to the line, the Sonics lead 89-83 with 2:22 to play.
Tight Game
Posted at 9:37 p.m.
I’m too busy blogging to keep track of the score, but I’m pretty certain that the Sonics have not led by more than four points and have never trailed here in the fourth quarter. I don’t know your feelings on the topic, but to me, that’s an awfully tight game. The Sonics have had a lot of success in close games this season - they’re 8-5 in games decided by five points or less - but not so much recently at home. They’ll want to go to Ray Allen down the stretch; with his last bucket (which gave the Sonics the lead), Allen reached the 30-point mark with plenty of game left to go.
The Sonics probably won’t rely on the 3-ball; they’re 4-for-19 from 3-point range this evening, with only Luke Ridnour (1-for-2) shooting accurately.s
Big Shots
Posted at 9:27 p.m.
While he may be out of the starting lineup, Jameer Nelson has still played plenty of minutes tonight. He’s taken - and made - a couple of big shots here in the fourth quarter, scoring both of the Magic’s buckets to keep Orlando within two. Do you think this guy feels any pressure when a year ago he was playing in the tournament for a 1 seed?
Big block for Rashard Lewis sparks a fast break finished by an Antonio Daniels jumper and the Sonics lead 79-75 with 8:38 to play.
To the Fourth
Posted at 9:22 p.m.
The Sonics entered the third quarter with a two-point lead, and they’ll take the same lead to the fourth period. Neither team h as really been able to take control over the last two quarters, and this has been a very back-and-forth affair. The worrisome sign for the Sonics is that their starters have played a lot more minutes than Orlando’s key players. Still, if the Sonics take care of the basketball and contain dribble penetration, they’ve got a very good chance to win this game. Nick Collison continues to play big, scoring the Sonics last bucket of the quarter to give him his third double-double of the season and his career.
Fighting Back
Posted at 9:13 p.m.
Credit the Sonics with not panicking in the face of Orlando’s run to start this quarter. With the starting lineup playing all nine minutes thus far, the Sonics have rallied to take a two-point lead on a Rashard Lewis 3-ball. Lewis has nine points in the quarter, Ray Allen seven, which is a sign that the offense is running smoothly. Meanwhile, Orlando has been sloppy with the basketball, committing four turnovers after just three in the first half. But it’s still anybody’s game right now.
Coming Out Strong
Posted at 9:03 p.m.
We may not know much yet about Chris Jent, but we can tell this: He’s one incredible motivator. Okay, that might be reading a bit much into things, but the Magic has started the second half on a 14-6 run to take the lead. The temptation is to say that the Sonics need to pick it up, but they haven’t really played poorly; Orlando has just played that well, demonstrating a tremendous amount of energy here. The Sonics have tried to establish Rashard Lewis in the early going, and it’s paid off with a couple of buckets. After a Ray Allen 3-ball, the Sonics are back within three.
Halftime Stats
Posted at 8:53 p.m.
Brandon Hunter has already, as of the half, tied his season-high with 10 minutes played. Great rebounding by the Sonics, who outrebounded Orlando 27-19 despite missing more shot attempts (opponents misses are easier to rebound than your own). The Sonics bench has just 10 points, eight of them coming from Flip Murray. Just four turnovers in the first half, which is a great sign for the Sonics and will make Nate McMillan happier than he has been lately. With Vlade Radmanovic out, the 3-pointer is a significantly smaller part of the Sonics attack, and they’re 2-for-10 from downtown halfway through. It’s odd - they’re a smaller team but playing bigger, at least tonight.
Sonics Lead at Half
Posted at 8:40 p.m.
It was a back-and-forth second quarter, but the Sonics came out of it with a 48-46 lead. The Sonics have turned this into a battle of smallball, as Nate McMillan appeared to want, and Flip Murray has given them the scoring they needed with Radmanovic out of the lineup. Nick Collison has also given them a lift; he’s a point and a rebound away from a double-double halfway through. Both small forward are struggling; Grant Hill has eight points on 4-for-10 shooting. That’s where we are. The Sonics didn’t play great in the first half, but they’re in pretty good position to get this win.
The Sonics Offense
Posted at 8:34 p.m.
In the last couple of days, we’ve heard enough discussion of the Sonics offense to surely last us all a lifetime. Ray Allen wanted more shots, and he’s gotten them - though that’s almost certainly due in no small part to the fact that he’s being defended by a weak Magic perimeter group. Allen has taken 12 shots and hit five of them, scoring a game-high 16 points. His offense, though, has seemed to be at the expense of Rashard Lewis, who has taken just four shots and has only one point. Flip Murray makes consecutive baskets to give him eight points and the Sonics a four-point lead. Chris Jent wants a 20.
Replacing Vlade
Posted at 8:25 p.m.
Before the game, Nate McMillan wasn’t entirely certain what he planned to do to replace Vladimir Radmanovic’s minutes off the bench. Tonight, what McMillan has done is go small, with Flip Murray playing eight minutes thus far. Currently, Murray is at small forward in a three-guard lineup with starters Ray Allen and Luke Ridnour. Murray has four points on 2-for-4 shooting. The Sonics have gotten a big performance from Nick Collison, who has nine points and seven rebounds. On the other side, you can see why Chris Jent has talked about wanting to make more use of rookie Dwight Howard in the post. Howard has made a couple of outstanding moves to beat Nick Collison for his two buckets in the quarter.
The Things You Find Out Sitting Courtside
Posted at 8:15 p.m.
As I haven’t yet mentioned, I’m courtside tonight for the first time in about a month and a half. The most important observation I’ve made is that Stacey Augmon has arm bands with his nickname, “Plastic Man,” on them. The second is that Vladimir Radmanovic is not the only person in the house with a foot injury. Orlando assistant Clifford Ray is wearing a walking cast. Ray, a star for the Golden State Warriors once upon a time, is also the loudest guy on the Magic bench by far, constantly shouting encouragements and instruction to his players.
Swift missed both of his shots before checking out, but set some good screens and helped the Sonics reclaim the lead. Upon further review (and getting the play-by-play of the first quarter), the Magic finished the period on an 11-0 run.
After One
Posted at 8:09 p.m.
The Sonics led big midway through the quarter, but the Magic quickly cut into it at the end of the period, going on a run of about 14-3. As a result, they’ll take a 22-21 lead to the second quarter. A great deal of the Sonics success this season has been due to their deep bench, and with only one of their usual four reserves actually coming off the bench tonight (that being Antonio Daniels), the bench just doesn’t have that same punch. Meanwhile, Steve Francis (eight points) has started to heat up. The Sonics need to do a better jof of containing him.
Sonics Go Deep
Posted at 8:03 p.m.
Missing three rotation players tonight - I can now confirm that Danny Fortson is in a suit, while Jerome James is wearing a lime green outfit that would have been more appropriate last night for St. Patrick’s Day - the Sonics may have to go deep into their bench. Flip Murray and Vitaly Potapenko have seen some playing time recently, but should see more tonight. Potapenko replaced Nick Collison, who had two fouls, midway through the quarter. Murray, meanwhile, is preparing to check in. It’s also possible that rookies Robert Swift and Damien Wilkins - who was activated off the injured list to replace Radmanovic on the roster - could see some time. In fact, here comes Swift now for his first meaningful minutes since … the Sonics opener in Los Angeles. He gets a nice hand from the crowd.
On the Orlando side, Brandon Hunter, who has played just 69 minutes all season, is in the game. Hunter is a power forward who’s listed at 6-7 but is really closer to 6-5. He’s an incredible rebounder nonetheless, and should have some extra momentum after his alma mater (Ohio) was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament earlier today.
Stevenson a Starter
Posted at 7:57 p.m.
The Magic has also made a lineup change tonight. With Interim Coach Chris Jent replacing Johnny Davis after Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers, he’s put his stamp on the team already by replacing Jameer Nelson in the starting lineup with DeShawn Stevenson and moving Steve Francis back to the point. Since promoting Nelson to the starting lineup, Orlando is just 3-8, but it’s tough to blame him, as Nelson has played well individually (and Francis’ numbers have been unchanged). I’m not sure if the move is a permanent one; Francis is a much better matchup at point guard against the Sonics because he can take advantage of his size against Luke Ridnour and Stevenson is much more capable of defending Ray Allen. I wouldn’t call the move a success just yet; the magic has only eight points seven and a half minutes into the game and Jent called the first timeout of his head-coaching career a minute ago.
James, Fortson Out
Posted at 7:49 p.m.
Vladimir Radmanovic going to the injured list is not the extent of the Sonics injures tonight. Starting center Jerome James is also out, and I’m pretty sure Danny Fortson is not dressed, though I can’t tell for certain from this vantage point. James has a hip contusion and was limping around in the locker room before the game. Fortson has a left ankle injury for which he also had X-rays taken yesterday. They were negative.
With James out, rookie Nick Collison has gotten the nod for the Sonics. It’s Collison’s third career start, and two have come against the Magic. Collison has been active thus far, with three points and two rebounds.
Radmanovic To IL
Posted at 7:44 p.m.
We start tonight with the most important information for the long term: An X-ray taken yesterday revealed that Sonics reserve forward Vladimir Radmanovic has a stress fracture of his right fibula. According to Radmanovic, he’s been feeling pain since shortly after the All-Star break, but played through it before going to the doctor yesterday. While also being bothered by a sprained wrist, Radmanovic’s numbers had plummeted recently as he suffered through an extended shooting slump. Now, he’ll miss the remainder of the regular season. According to a press release, the injury should take 4-6 weeks to heal, though Nate McMillan said he was hopeful for a lower number along the lines of three weeks.
“There is a good sign, there is a bad sign,” Radmanovic said in the locker room. The good is that I didn’t keep playing and break it and require surgery. The bad is that I’m going to miss the rest of the regular season.”
Radmanovic will be in a cast for the next two weeks, but he can walk.
Signing On
Posted at 7:21 p.m.
With the NCAA Tournament on everyone’s minds, we’ve got some of the greatest players in NCAA history in the house tonight as the Orlando Magic square off with the Seattle SuperSonics. Mateen Cleaves (on the injured list) and Nick Collison of the Sonics square off with Grant Hill and Jameer Nelson of the Magic, amongst many others, in tonight’s contest. There is no shortage of news as the Magic play their first game under Interim Coach Chris Jent and the Sonics deal with their worst injuries of the season, so stay with Live From The Press Box all night long and don’t forget to hit refresh to make sure you’re getting the latest.
