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.
Editor's Note: Because I was unable to get an internet connection during tonight's game in San Antonio, I kept a running LFTPB while watching the game and posted it afterwards. Consider this like the Pacific time zone edition of "Saturday Night Live" - it's not live for you, but it once was. I've even left in (most of) the typos.
Back to Seattle
Posted at 11:26 p.m.
The Spurs dribble out the clock on a 103-90 win to take a 3-2 lead in this Western Conference Semifinals series. When you put tonight's game into perspective - playing the NBA's best road team in front of a hostile crowd with your second-best player watching from the bench - the Sonics performance can't be criticized too much. The good news from tonight's game was Danny Fortson being allowed by the referees to be a productive player in this game. That could come up big Thursday when we're back at KeyArena for Game 6 of this series. Tickets are already sold out for that game, but be sure to tune in on FSN or ESPN. We'll see you then.
Not His Quarter
Posted at 11:17 p.m.
The fourth quarter started well for Ray Allen, but he's missed his subsequent five shot attempts and is stuck on 19 points for the ballgame. On the other side, Manu Ginobili has made Gregg "Adjustments are BS" Popovich look like a genius for making him a starter again. Ginobili only has 39 points on 11-for-15 shooting and 15-for-17 from the free-throw line. Yikes.
There's Your Run
Posted at 11:14 p.m.
San Antonio gets a transition dunk from Robert Horry, two free throws from Manu Ginobili and a Tim Duncan score and it's a 16-point game. This one's about finished. You've got to feel for Ginobili, who has endured more than his fair share of flagrant fouls during this postseason. Damien Wilkins' foul wasn't nearly as bad on replay as it looked at the time, but still not enjoyable either.
No Runs
Posted at 11:09 p.m.
This fourth quarter has not been about runs. One team has scored to quickly seize momentum, only to see the opposing squad reclaim it with a score of their own. The Sonics are hanging around, still down 10 (91-81 with 5:26 to play) and close enough that they could make this a one- or two-possession game with al little run. Meanwhile a Spurs run could put this game out of reach. We teeter in between those two results right now, with time on San Antonio's side.
Frustrated?
Posted at 11:05 p.m.
For the second time in this quarter, a Ray Allen 3 rolls around the rim and out. Bruce Bowen follows with a 3. Allen then fouls Robert Horry, possibly out of frustration. A Tim Duncan score in the post makes it 12, but Damien Wilkins answers with a clutch 3 to get back within single-digits.
This is the Time
Posted at 11:02 p.m.
Still 82-75 with 8:35 to play as we take our first media timeout of this final period. Antonio Daniels will check in for the Sonics, giving them the lineup (Ridnour/Daniels/Allen/Wilkins/James) that I would expect to take us the rest of the way. The Spurs haven't been able to build their lead in this quarter, scoring only four points, and now's the Sonics time.
Worth noting: After committing 23 turnovers on Sunday in Seattle, the Spurs have just seven this evening thus far.
Bi-Partisan Accord
Posted at 10:57 p.m.
The Spurs employee to my left and I agree: Both teams have been the recipients of some gifts from the men with the whistles. Jerome James' layup gives him 10 points and brings the Sonics back within five. Two Manu Ginobili free throws make it 82-75 with 9:33 to play.
Watch Out Now
Posted at 10:54 p.m.
Ray Allen opens the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer. That makes it a nine-point game. Who knows what Allen might be capable of in this period. On the Sonics side, be weary that Manu Ginobili is back in the game. You can't leave him open.
Bizarre Occurrences
Posted at 10:49 p.m.
First, Nick Collison is charged with what I believe to be the first technical of his NBA career as part of a rather dubious double-T with Bruce Bowen (it didn't appear any player was doing anything untoward from a replay, though that may have been an issue of diction, not action). Then Ray Allen misses his third free throw of the third quarter. Despite the craziness, the Sonics go into the fourth quarter trailing 78-68. The Sonics have plenty of time, but they don't have a lot of margin for error, mental or physical. Allen getting hot would be a big help; he was 0-for-2 from the field and 1-for-4 from the free-throw line during the third quarter, scoring one point.
How Often?
Posted at 10:42 p.m.
Does Ray Allen miss two free throws? I can only remember one other time this season. But Danny Fortson is doing a great job in the post on Tim Duncan, and after a stop and an Antonio Daniels score in early offense, it's a seven-point game.
Not Going Away
Posted at 10:40 p.m.
After two Antonio Daniels free throws, the Sonics are within nine points of the Spurs and have gained some momentum thanks to Danny Fortson's rebounding and a smallball lineup on offense. If the Sonics can stay the course the remainder of this period, they've still got a great opportunity to make things interesting in the last five minutes.
It Says Something …
Posted at 10:35 p.m.
That, just for the record, I'm going to the record books to find out the highest playoff scoring performance against the Sonics (it's 50 by Karl Malone in the 2000 Playoffs). That's how good Manu Ginobili is right now. He's got 33 points, so he's a ways away, but I wouldn't rule anything out.
No Quit
Posted at 10:30 p.m.
The Sonics long ago established that this team is not going to quit, no matter what happens. After an Antonio Daniels score, Nate McMillan practically got into a defensive stance exhorting his team to play. Manu Ginobili hit all three of his free throws after being fouled shooting a 3, but Nick Collison (nine points) responded with a three-point play on the other end.
Home-Court Advantage
Posted at 10:25 p.m.
San Antonio has started the third quarter with a 17-3 run to open up a 14-point lead just five minutes into the period. The contrast between this period and the second quarter is sharp indeed. With the SBC Center at thunder pitch, this is a reminder of why we play the first six months of this season. To win a series, the lower-seeded team has to win a game on the opposition's homecourt, and that's a monumental task when playing against the Spurs.
Scrappy
Posted at 10:20 p.m.
Nate McMillan frequently talks about how he wants his team to play scrappy, so he had to like their possession coming out of the timeout, as they finally got their first second-half basket on about their fifth look at the hoop thanks to hard work on the offensive glass. Manu Ginobili follows with a 3-pointer to push the Spurs lead to seven.
Momentum: Spurs
Posted at 10:15 p.m.
Just as at the start of this game, the Spurs have opened the half with a run and with the crowd on its feet. The Spurs have the first six points of this half after a Nazr Mohammed dunk. The Sonics execution at the offensive end has been poor, as they committed just their sixth turnover of the game and had another bad possession. Nate McMillan takes timeout so his crew can regroup and the fans around me are not going to sit through this stoppage of play.
Halftime Stats
Posted at 10:10 p.m.
I confess I hadn't realized quite how hot the Sonics were as a team in the second quarter until I looked at the stat sheet. The Sonics made 15 of 23 shots in the period, a sizzling 65.2% clip. Let's just say the Sprs don't give that up very often. The Sonics could stand to clamp down on the defensive glass after San Antonio got nine offensive rebounds - three by Nazr Mohammed - in the first half. Foul trouble potentially an issue in the second half. Nick Collison and Flip Murray have three fouls apiece for the Sonics, Ray Allen, Danny Fortson and Jerome James two. On the Spurs side, every starter except Manu Ginobili has two fouls, as does Robert Horry.
Tied at Halftime
Posted at 9:55 p.m.
Do you think Nate McMillan would have taken it if you had offered before the game that his team would be tied at halftime? I'm pretty sure he would have. Phenomenal second quarter for the Sonics, who outscored San Antonio 32-25 in the period and got 15 on 7-for-10 shooting from a red-hot Allen. Now, as Nate McMillan said before the game, the third quarter becomes huge for the Sonics. If they can start the second half as well as they finished the first half, they're in great shape to steal this game.
The Feeling at the SBC Center
Posted at 9:50 p.m.
Maybe I'm just in my own world, but my perception here at the SBC Center right now is that the fans are thinking, "Hey, aren't we supposed to be ahead of these guys right now?" That's especially the case after Ray Allen hits the Sonics first 3-pointer of the game to pull them briefly within one, 49-48. After Tim Duncan missed his first free throw, there was definite grumbling from the fans, and that continues after Allen scores his 15th point of this second quarter with left-hand layup.
What a Series
Posted at 9:45 p.m.
Some great plays by the Sonics lately, with Luke Ridnour banking one off glass (he's continuing to play like he's at Oregon) and Ray Allen driving to the hole for a pretty left-hand layup. Yet the sonics still trail by five with Tony Parker going to the free-throw line. That's a testament to how good the Spurs have been. This has just developed into a phenomenal series to watch as a fan of NBA basketball. You've got great players making great plays on both sides, role players stepping up and two of the best coaches in the league matching wits. This is fun.
Unconscious
Posted at 9:41 p.m.
Manu Ginobili is absolutely in another dimension right now. He's six-for-seven from the field and has 19 points in 13 minutes of work. You can talk all you want about adjustments; there's no way to stop Ginobili right now. When the Sonics play off him, he's hit both of his 3-point attempts; when they play up on him, he goes to the hole or the free-throw line. Bruce Bowen's 3 makes it a nine-point Spurs lead, but Jerome James quiets the crowd with a dunk.
Right In This One
Posted at 9:37 p.m.
After a Ray Allen jumper, the Sonics are within three points at 36-33 with 5:48 left in the first half. Gregg Popovich wants a timeout to talk it over. The Spurs are getting a phenomenal game from Manu Ginobili (14 points on 4-for-5 shooting) and a strong effort from Nazr Mohamed (nine points, six boards), but Tony Parker has shot 1-for-6 from the field and the Spurs bench has been non-existent with Ginobili starting. Pop responds by throwing in Devin Brown to matchup up small against a Ridnour/Daniels/Allen/Wilkins/James lineup for the Sonics. Great play by Damien Wilkins a minute ago, as he pump-faked from beyond the 3-point lane and got in the lane for a two-hand dunk finish.
Pop on Defense
Posted at 9:30 p.m.
Jim Beseda of
The Oregonian, who is covering the Sonics beat during the postseason, is working on a piece about the Spurs defense. When he interrogated Gregg Popovich before tonight's game in a group media session, I took the opportunity to work in the question I've been meaning to ask him, how much of good defenses (like the Spurs) are talent and how much system.
"Coaches do what they feel comfortable with," said Pop. "But you also have to have people who will buy into that."
It's a testament to the Spurs front office and Popovich that buy in has never been an issue in San Antonio.
Popovich also praised the Sonics defense.
"Seattle does a good job defensively," he said. "They don't get that credit because they're considered an offensive run-and-gun team. Those guys understand what Nate wants and they execute it."
Can Ray Get Rolling?
Posted at 9:25 p.m.
Gregg Popovich likes to have Bruce Bowen in the game whenever Ray Allen is, but Nate McMillan snuck Allen in before Popovich could bring in his defensive specialist. Allen will try to get rolling in this stretch after a scoreless first quarter. The Sonics have gotten untracked on offense as a team, with an Allen jumper followed by two Nick Collison scores and Luke Ridnour getting to the free-throw line.
Seven offensive rebounds thus far for the Spurs, many of them simply a product of San Antonio's length up front. Nazr Mohammed has just gone over Sonics for rebounds twice.
Down Seven After One
Posted at 9:18 p.m.
25-18 is not such a bad place to be when you miss your first seven shots and were trailing by 12 after the first quarter and each of the first two games at the SBC Center, but the Spurs also have to feel quite good about where they are. The Sonics survived without Ray Allen, largely because Antonio Daniels put them on his back and carried them. Daniels has eight points after one quarter and also took a big charge that was Tim Duncan's second foul. The Sonics need to work on making their fouls count - Nazr Mohammed has gotten a pair of three-point play opportunities already.
Free Throws
Posted at 9:10 p.m.
While the two teams have basically evened out in terms of field-goal percentage (38.5% for the Spurs, 35.7% for the Sonics), San Antonio has an eight-point lead in this game thanks to getting to the free-throw line 10 times to the Sonics none. Antonio Daniels cuts it to six with their first two free throws and the Sonics will be in the bonus on San Antonio's next foul. The free-throw line is a great place to be when you're struggling to score. (Of course, it's also a great place to be when you're not.)
Nazr Mohammed is having the quarter I had worried about him having entering this series. A putback gives him four points and four boards, though he can't convert the three-point play.
Good News, Bad News
Posted at 9:05 p.m.
If you see the Sonics coaching staff smiling, it's because Nick Collison hit a 14-foot jumper from the left baseline. That's the shot the Sonics need Collison to hit to space the floor in this series. He had it in college and during his first summer with the Sonics, but it hasn't come back since shoulder surgeries forced him to miss his entire first NBA season. If you see the Sonics coaching staff frowning, it's because Ray Allen just picked up his second personal foul with three minutes left in the quarter and the Sonics trailing 16-10. He's replaced by Flip Murray.
Spurred at Home
Posted at 9:01 p.m.
During the season, Danny O'Neil of the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer did a piece on how the Sonics were equally good at home and on the road, and he asked me for an explanation. "Chaos," I told him. "It's completely random." I have a pretty good reason for thinking this way, having done a study a few years ago that showed very little consistency between home-court advantages year to year for a given team. For example, the Mavs were unbeatable at home last year, then had a better road record than home record much of this season. (Which is not to say there isn't home-court advantage; I just don't think it's unique to a given team.)
I maintained that stance at the start of this series despite the Spurs 38-3 record at the SBC Center during the regular season. But in the fifth game of this series, I'm starting to relent. San Antonio is a different team at home. No team in the league has its offense feed off its defense more than the fast-breaking but great defending Spurs, and they get a ton more of those opportunities at home.
But the Sonics have played some very good half-court defense and are starting to get some buckets. They trail by only five, 13-8, with four minutes left in the quarter. If they can close the period strong, this is a start they can build on.
Slow Start
Posted at 8:53 p.m.
Before the game, Nate McMillan called the first and third quarters tonight "the two biggest quarters of the season for us." So far, not so good. Three and a half minutes in, the Sonics have yet to score. They badly need a bucket to quiet this SBC Center crowd and shut down the Spurs transition game. It's 5-0 with Manu Ginobili heading to the free-throw line and Jerome James has already picked up two fouls. He'll be replaced by Nick Collison.
Pick-and-Roll Switch
Posted at 8:48 p.m.
Nate McMillan talked before the game about expecting the Spurs to change their pick-and-roll defense back to what they did in the regular season, 'jumping' the pick by sending the big man hard at the ballhandler to force him wide of the screen and give players time to react. That's precisely what happeed on the Sonics first possession, and it resulted in a Ray Allen turnover.
He's a Coach
Posted at 8:45 p.m.
Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich never wants to reveal more information than he has to, and he provided another example this evening. Asked about his lineup before the game, Popovich said it would be the same. Lo and behold, Manu Ginobili has been announced as a starter, not Brent Barry. Perhaps Pop, being technical, meant the same as in the second half of Game 4 - when Ginobili did start.
The Dark Side
Posted at 8:43 p.m.
Very cool pregame video played on the SBC Center video screen a minute ago billing tonight's game as "Episode V: Revenge of the Spurs," using video from the upcoming Star Wars relase, "Revenge of the Sith". One strange thing, however - the Spurs billed themselves as the Dark Side in the video … is that really the role you'd want to cast yourself into?
Lewis Out
Posted at 8:38 p.m.
For the second straight game, the Sonics will be without forward Rashard Lewis. Lewis, a game-time decision before the game will sit out again because of a sprained left toe that has left him in pain and limited in movement.
"He tried to do some shooting this morning at shootaround, and there was just too much to play," said Sonics Coach Nate McMillan. "There's too much pain for him to even be a factor on the court. He can't run, can't jump, move."
I was here for shootaround, and Lewis was not getting any lift on his shots. Lewis has shown progress in his movement, something McMillan confirmed.
"The swelling has gone down," said McMillan. "There's not as much pain."
Signing On
Posted at 8:35 p.m.
Was it really just a week ago that I was sitting in this same spot at the SBC Center waiting for Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals series between the San Antonio Spurs and the Seattle SuperSonics to tip off? So much has changed since then, from Ray Allen demonstrating the health of his ankle to Rashard Lewis spraining his toe to the Sonics tying this series. We're down to three games in what has become a best-of-two series, and the Sonics are confident they can put themselves in a position to take the series with a win tonight.
