Live From The Press Box - Sonics vs. Dallas
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 Come Up Short
Posted at 10:03 p.m.
Ray Allen’s 3-point attempt with about 10 seconds left is off, and that’s it for the Sonics. Two Dirk Nowitzki free throws and an Antonio Daniels layup make the final score 95-90. On the one hand, the Sonics nearly came up with a win against one of the NBA’s best and hottest teams, surely meaning they’ve improved from their recent slump. On the other hand, eventually you need wins and it’s disappointing not to come up with one tonight. This puts a lot of pressure on the Sonics to win Friday’s game, which will be their last chance to secure the Northwest Division championship at KeyArena. We’ll see you then.
New Orleans Friday
Posted at 9:59 p.m.
The Sonics conclude their regular-season home schedule Friday when they host the New Orleans Hornets. Come out and celebrate on the Green and Gold on their way to the postseason.
Get your tickets now!
Too Good
Posted at 9:58 p.m.
Sometimes all you can do is tip your cap to your opponent. Rashard Lewis, the Sonics latest matchup for the utterly unguardable Dirk Nowitzki, played him perfectly, forcing him into a fadeaway 16-footer with a hand in his face. Nothing but twine, and the Sonics - after an Antonio Daniels miss at the other end - are staring at a five-point deficit with 17.2 seconds on the clock. They’ll need to score fast and foul.
Dallas by Three
Posted at 9:55 p.m.
Usually automatic at the free-throw line, Ray Allen splits two attempts, leaving Dallas in the lead. At the other end, Rashard Lewis switches out on Jason Terry and Terry hits a jumper over him to give Dallas a 91-88 lead with 46.3 seconds to play. Terry heads back to the Dallas huddle during a timeout with a fierce look on his face. He does NOT like to lose in his hometown.
AD is Key
Posted at 9:53 p.m.
A driving layup from Antonio Daniels ties the came at 87. Are you sure he was injured? Really? I can’t tell. Unfortunately, Dirk Nowitzki puts Dallas back in the lead with a pair of free throws at the other end. 1:14 left on the clock.
Huge Three Minutes
Posted at 9:49 p.m.
With the score still 85-83 in his team’s favor, Avery Johnson takes a timeout with 2:54 to play to set up his offense. The Sonics are finishing with a lineup of Antonio Daniels, Ray Allen, Damien Wilkins, Rashard Lewis and Jerome James. All five players have scored double-digits this evening. A couple of times recently, however, they’ve settled for quick shots, including Antonio Daniels’ 3-point try on their last possession. Dirk Nowitzki (25) has been the main offense for Dallas, but don’t rule out Jason Terry playing a big role down the stretch of this game.
Damien Comes Up Big
Posted at 9:45 p.m.
Damien Wilkins has atoned for his poor pass, stealing a pass of his own and taking it all the way for a dunk. He then scored a layup in the secondary offense, sneaking behind the defense, to give him 10 points for the night. Jason Terry followed with a 3-pointer for Dallas, but Antonio Daniels answered at the free-throw line, hitting both tries to make it 85-83 with 3:57 to play.
Dallas Takes Back The Lead
Posted at 9:39 p.m.
The Sonics briefly went up 75-73 on a Rashard Lewis bank shot off glass, but Dallas has answered with a 7-0 run. The last five points have come in quick succession, Jerry Stackhouse burying a 3-pointer (the third of the game for the 23.6% shooter from downtown) followed by a poor pass by Damien Wilkins that was intercepted and taken the other way for a Dirk Nowitzki dunk in transition. Nate McMillan calls a timeout to get his team to regroup.
Whistle-Happy
Posted at 9:32 p.m.
The first three minutes even of the fourth quarter see seven fouls called. They’re relatively evenly distributed, but the Mavericks were called for an offensive foul, which puts them closer to being in the bonus, four team fouls for the Sonics to two for Dallas. As for other parts of the scoreboard, we remain tied at 73. After the Sonics rallied when Dirk Nowitzki was out of the game in the second quarter, Avery Johnson changed his rotation in the second half, giving Nowitzki a quick blow at the end of the third quarter but bringing him out to start the fourth. Starters Jason Terry and Erick Dampier are out there with him.
No Fans
Posted at 9:27 p.m.
Joey Crawford isn’t winning any friends in the crowd right now. After Danny Fortson did not get the benefit of a call while fighting for a rebound, the Sonics bench protested and was assessed a technical foul. After that, two more fouls were called on the Sonics on Dallas’ ensuing possession, the second pretty clearly a phantom whistle from the replay. But the crowd may be appeased after a Dirk Nowitzki offensive foul on Dallas’ next possession. Damien Wilkins evens the game at 73 with a 3-pointer.
Rashard Lewis checks back in for the Sonics.
Dallas by Two to the Fourth
Posted at 9:22 p.m.
With 15 seconds left in the third quarter, the Sonics tied the game at 70 on a Damien Wilkins 3-pointer from the corner. I think Wilkins really needed that one for his confidence after shooting 1-for-9 on Monday and missing his only two shots in the first half tonight. A nice third quarter for Jerome James, who scored all 10 of his points to help the Sonics come back from their deficit early in the period. James’ work in the post and Evans’ rebounding helped the Sonics neutralize Dallas’ advantage in terms of post mobility.
Rebounding Reggie
Posted at 9:15 p.m.
You’ve got to like Reggie Evans’ effort tonight. The Sonics forward already has 13 rebounds in 22 minutes of action after a wild sequence that highlighted the Sonics rebounding dominance this evening. Evans secured the rebound on defense and was fouled by Keith Van Horn, splitting two free throws. The miss on the second shot was rebounded by Jerome James, whose miss was rebounded by Evans, who was fouled and again split two free throws. The Sonics lead the battle of the boards by an impressive 37-25 margin.
More on AD
Posted at 9:08 p.m.
Antonio Daniels was the only one of the Sonics returning to the lineup to speak extensively before the game about his condition and getting back on the court. Asked if he was going to play the night, Daniels merely lifted up his warmup to reveal his jersey underneath.
“I know all three of us are hurting, but we think we can help the team,” Daniels said.
Yesterday, Daniels told reporters that ideally he’d take another week before coming back from his knee injury (chondromalacia). With the Sonics currently on a five-game losing streak, that’s a luxury he can’t afford.
“Losing is bad, whether you’re playing or not,” said Daniels. “To be on the side is very frustrating, because we know we’re a better team than we’ve shown.”
Sonics in the Bonus
Posted at 9:01 p.m.
With nearly seven minutes left in the third quarter, the Sonics are already in the bonus. That’s something they can use to their advantage as they look to come back from their current seven-point deficit. I’m not great at picking these things up, but I haven’t seen anything different from a strategic standpoint in this quarter. It just looks like Dallas is executing better right now than the Sonics. Rashard Lewis was just removed from the game, apparently earlier than he would have liked. Lewis has looked upset on the sidelines as he rides the exercise bike to keep warm.
Dallas Starts Strong
Posted at 8:53 p.m.
If you weren’t already a believer in the Little General’s halftime speeches, maybe now is the time to drink the Kool-Aid. Dallas has come out of the locker room with a great deal of energy, scoring the first eight points of the second half to push their lead to nine points. The Sonics will have to raise their level to match the Mavericks, which is presumably what Nate McMillan is telling them after he took a timeout.
Halftime Stats
Posted at 8:45 p.m.
Boy, did I miss a doozy in the first quarter … Dallas 11-0 in fast-break points. Fast-break points are a pretty weak stat because of the way they’re calculated, but in this case they tell an important story that the Mavericks were killing the Sonics in transition. Dallas had only two first-break piotns in the second quarter, which is part of why the Sonics were able to get back in this game. Some of those points probably came off of long rebounds - the Sonics shot just 4-for-15 on 3-pointers (26.7%). They did an outstanding job on the offensive glass, coming up with eight offensive boards to Dallas’ 12 defensive boards - a 40% offensive rebounding percentage (they’re at about 32% or so for the season).
Sonics Right There at Halftime
Posted at 8:32 p.m.
The Sonics got two chances to score before the halftime buzzer after Shawn Bradley was called for a highly dubious offensive foul (one you get for being 7-6, alas), but Luke Ridnour missed a pair of difficult shots and the Sonics will settle for trailing by one, 46-45. You have to like the defensive effort from the Sonics in giving up only 46 points to the high-powered Dallas offense in the first half. Their own top-notch offense got going when Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis did. The duo had only four points combined about three minutes into the quarter, but go into halftime with 20, 11 for Allen and nine for Lewis. With momentum on their side, the Sonics have to feel pretty good in the locker room.
Home Again
Posted at 8:25 p.m.
It’s always exciting for Jason Terry to return to his native Seattle. There are few more loyal Seattlites than Terry, who has the local area code (206) as a tattoo. Naturally, there are plenty of friends and family to accommodate. When I went into the Dallas locker room before the game, there were a pile of tickets spread out in front of Terry that he was preparing to distribute. All that can be distracting, and Terry only had six points the last time the Mavericks were in Seattle. However, half of those points were the game-winning 3-pointer, so it was a good trip tonight. Terry has six so far as we wind towards halftime.
Rashard Heats Up
Posted at 8:17 p.m.
About simultaneously with me posting that the Sonics needed one of their All-Stars to get going on offense, Rashard Lewis fired in a 3-pointer. He’s followed that with a running layup and a fierce dunk in transition and has gone from zero points to seven in the blink of an eye. Along with a Ray Allen jumper, that’s got the Sonics within three points of Dallas, 37-34. It’s also got the crowd into this game, drawing a Dallas timeout (though Avery Johnson didn’t count on the motivational power of the Sonics Boom Squad). Credit Luke Ridnour with a great find for the Lewis dunk, by the way - Lewis was the trailer on the play and Ridnour was patient, not only converting the break but also helping Lewis’ confidence as he gets comfortable again on the court.
Mavs Clinic
Posted at 8:12 p.m.
So far, this game has told us more about the Dallas Mavericks than the new (old) Seattle SuperSonics, I’d venture to say. I didn’t really think that Keith Van Horn was going to do a great deal for the Mavericks, simply because they already have so much firepower off the bench. I was wrong. What Van horn does is given them some Nowitzki-like performance when Nowitzki is on the bench. Tonight, he’s come in with eight quick points to keep the Dallas offense going with the bench in the game. The Sonics offense is still waiting for one of the team’s All-Stars to step up.
AD Looking Good
Posted at 8:05 p.m.
The best news of the game so far for the Sonics is how healthy Antonio Daniels has looked thus far. If you didn’t know Daniels had missed the last three games because of a knee injury, you would never guess it from his first six minutes of work; Daniels is out there cutting and going to the basket as he would when at full strength, and he has seven points, adding a pair of layups to his early -pointer. Rashard Lewis is back in the game to start the second quarter. Those of us that have watched the Sonics for a while suspected Rashard Lewis might end up playing more than the 20 to 25 minutes Nate McMillan talked about before the game, and he’s on pace to do that so far. Ray Allen shot just 2-for-8 in the first quarter, chafing under the defense of Dallas forward Josh Howard.
After One
Posted at 8:00 p.m.
Dirk Nowitzki is the difference as we go to the second quarter. Dallas leads this one by eight, 25-17, and Nowitzki has nine points. On a couple of those scores, the Sonics were guilty of not paying attention to the German sharpshooter. Taking a quick glance at the first-quarter stats, the Sonics may be lucky to be as close as they are after shooting only 27%. They did a good job of winning the hustle battle.
Updating the Sick Bay
Posted at 7:52 p.m.
Rashard Lewis has appeared to be moving well and got up to block a Dallas shot in transition, but he missed all four shots he took before leaving the game about seven and a half minutes in. Lewis worked exclusively from the perimeter, and we’ll see if the Sonics look to him in the post - one of the three things Nate McMillan mentioned will change the most with the players returning to the lineup - when Lewis returns to the game. Antonio Daniels and Danny Fortson recently checked in and Daniels made an instant impact, burying a 3-pointer to pull the Sonics back within two.
Dallas Streaking
Posted at 7:45 p.m.
With Rashard Lewis back in the lineup, the Sonics got off to a quick start, leading 7-2 after a Luke Ridnour 3-pointer. Since then, the Sonics offense has gone stagnant, with Dallas going on a 14-2 run to take a seven-point lead and force Nate McMillan to use a timeout. The Mavericks have been dangerous so far in transition, something McMillan talked about at length before the game. The Sonics have to do a better job of getting back, but they can help themselves out by making a few more shots and forcing Dallas to take the ball out of the net.
Signing On
Posted at 7:30 p.m.
Good news from KeyArena this evening. Not one, not two but three Sonics are returning from injury to the lineup tonight. Antonio Daniels, Danny Fortson and Rashard Lewis will all dress and play. According to Nate McMillan, their minutes will be limited, with Lewis and Daniels to play around 20-25 minutes, but their mere presence on the court is enough to change the mood in the Sonics locker room. Of course, even at full strength, the Dallas Mavericks are no easy task for opponents. Dallas is 11-2 since Avery Johnson became Head Coach and has become the NBA’s fourth-best team. It should be a dandy, so stay with us all night long and be sure to hit refresh so you’re getting the latest.
