Live From The Press Box - Sonics vs. Utah
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Sonics Win in Style
Final: Sonics 113, Utah 81
The consensus after the Sonics lost to Detroit 98-96 on Friday was that there were no moral victories, but the Sonics were encouraged by their play and knew they could win a lot of games if they kept it up against the rest of their schedule. Tonight hast justified that thinking, with the Sonics running all over a pretty decent Utah Jazz team, finally winning by 32 points. All 12 Sonics scored in the game as the team shot 57.3%. Don't forget about the defense either, as the Sonics held Utah to 81 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, and 38.9% shooting while forcing 23 turnovers and scoring 33 points on them. There were plenty of youngsters in the house for Kids at the Key Sunday, and they are going home happy.
Missions Accomplished
Fourth Quarter: Sonics 109, Utah 78
Besides winning the game, which is 2:30 away from becoming a reality, the Sonics accomplished their other two main goals between the timeouts. Noel Felix scored his first NBA basket in fine fashion, following a miss with a powerful putback dunk with a little less than five minutes left in the game. Just a moment ago, Damien Wilkins' jumper gave the Sonics 109 points, earning the fans Pepsi for the second time in the three games the Sonics have been running the promotion.
Sonics fans are also enjoying the news that the Seahawks have reportedly re-signed Shaun Alexander to an eight-year contract.
Happy Debut
Fourth Quarter: Sonics 101, Utah 74
One of the nice things about a game like tonight's is the opportunity for everybody to see action. In the Sonics case, that means not only the first extended KeyArena action for newly-acquired Mike Wilks, but also the NBA debut of Noel Felix, who has spent a lot of time in the CBA and overseas waiting for this moment.
The only drama left in tonight's game is whether the Sonics can get to 108 points, winning an eight-pack of Pepsi for fans in attendance at KeyArena.
Cruise Control
Fourth Quarter: Sonics 99, Utah 70
An 8-0 Sonics run to start the fourth quarter has proven what I was talking about in terms of the team enjoying themselves. One score was a Damien Wilkins layup after a steal in the backcourt where his teammates gave him crap afterwards for not dunking the ball. One score was a Chris Wilcox alley-oop dunk. And yet another came on a play where Wilkins couldn't finish an alley-oop, bouncing it off the front rim, Earl Watson had a putback that missed and Robert Swift cleaned things up with his second dunk of the night.
Dunks:
26
Enjoying Themselves
End Third Quarter: Sonics 91, Utah 68
For a long stretch of this season, games seemed like something of a chore for the Sonics, which is inevitable when a team is struggling. Since the trade deadline, however, the mood has changed dramatically and the Sonics seem to be enjoying themselves. That's translated into a win over the Hornets on Tuesday and a very tough battle on Friday against Detroit and a terrific effort thus far tonight. It's not just the results, but the style the Sonics are playing, the scrappy effort they're showing (Damien Wilkins runs into the crowd after a loose ball as I type this). It's fun to watch and it's fun to play and it's all very exciting right now.
One frustrated player is Jazz center Greg Ostertag, who booted a basketball used by the Sonics Dunking Ushers during the quarter break all the way to the top of the 100 level.
Scoring at Will
Third Quarter: Sonics 86, Utah 63
Tonight's game must be very painful to watch for Utah Coach Jerry Sloan, who has always prided himself on defense. The Jazz aren't putting up a particularly good defensive effort tonight and the Sonics are making them pay time and time again. With a little under three minutes left in the third quarter, they're already sitting on 86 points and shooting 62.5% from the field. On one particularly egregious play, Chris Wilcox just sprinted down the middle of the court and was fed by Ray Allen for a dunk in transition. Ouch.
Foot on the Pedal
Third Quarter: Sonics 75, Utah 54
The Sonics haven't let off the gas pedal at all thus far since halftime, starting the third quarter with a 14-7 run to expand their lead to a game-high 21 points. The Sonics have been getting out in transition, including a Robert Swift breakaway dunk all by himself (see Dunk Tracker below) and, for their last score before Jerry Sloan took timeout, a Luke Ridnour layup. Swift has come back early in this quarter and been very active. He was called for charging on an aggressive move to the basket, then drew a defensive foul when he made very little contact in blocking Milt Palacio's shot. He also started the last fast break with a good rebound and outlet pass.
Sloan responds by putting in four reserves, including, for his first action tonight, one Gregory Ostertag.
Dunks:
25
Inside the Numbers
Halftime: Sonics 61, Utah 47
First off, it was a fast-paced first half, with both teams getting 48 possessions. That partially reflects Utah shooting a bunch of free throws with the clock stopped, but also indicates the Sonics controlled tempo, which is exactly what they wanted to do. The Sonics scored at an efficient rate of 127.1 points per 100 possessions, while Utah posted a subpar Offensive Rating of 97.9 points per 100 possessions. It was a weird mix of shutting down the Jazz's shooting from the field (37.5%) and letting them get to the line 25 times, though they shot just 64% there. Utah truly dominated the glass, holding the Sonics to one offensive board and getting 11 of their own. Utah's total rebound percentage of 66.8% is about as high as you're going to find for a team in a half.
Chris Wilcox starts in place of Nick Collison in the second half.
Watson Sparks Sonics
Halftime: Sonics 61, Utah 47
As the Sonics go into halftime with a solid 14-point lead, a lot of the credit has to go to Earl Watson. Watson checked in for Ray Allen with a little more than four minutes left in the half and proceeded to make several plays. Watson grabbed a rebound by using all of his surprising vertical leap on one play, dribbling to the frontcourt and setting up Rashard Lewis for a 3-pointer with a behind-the-back pass. On the very next possession, Watson drew a charge. He closed the first half by hitting a 3-pointer on the Sonics last possession. Watson finished the first half with eight points, five assists and three boards. The Sonics had 17 assists on their 23 baskets and shot 57.5% from the field. The Jazz can't keep up with that kind of offense.
Jazz Living at the Line
Second Quarter: Sonics 51, Utah 41
There isn't a giant red bullseye on the free-throw line at the Jazz end of the court, but there may as well be. Utah is as effective at getting to the line as any team in the league, and the Sonics struggle to keep opposing teams from getting there. The result is that Utah has shot 12-for-16 on free throws during the second quarter, scoring more than half of their points in the period at the line. Utah briefly got the lead under double-digits at the line, but the Sonics will try to close the first half strong.
Sonics Go Small
Second Quarter: Sonics 49, Utah 35
Just after the last timeout, we were passed a note on press row that Nick Collison is questionable to return with a strained plantar fascia in his left foot. Robert Swift also has yet to return to the court since being pulled with a little less than a minute left in the first quarter. That's forced the Sonics to go small in this quarter, with Rashard Lewis playing power forward most of the period. Mikki Moore is currently manning the middle for the Sonics. That's not a great rebounding lineup, and the Jazz is the league's best rebounding team, so we'll see how that plays out. On offense, Ray Allen is carrying the Sonics. He's now got 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting, most recently a sick three-point play where Allen started to go up with his right hand, then went to a reverse up-and-under after drawing the foul and still converted.
Ray Catches Fire
Second Quarter: Sonics 37, Utah 27
Ray Allen got one of his longest (intentional) first-quarter breaks of the season, sitting out the final 5:51 of the quarter as Earl Watson manned the off-guard position. Allen has come back refreshed, scoring eight points in the final three minutes of the second quarter as the Sonics offense is going again. They also got an alley-oop dunk from Earl Watson to Chris Wilcox, following what Bob Hill said before tonight's game about taking advantage of Wilcox's leaping ability. That won't be the last time we see those two hook up for a lob and dunk.
In keeping with tonight's Kids at the Key Sunday theme, the Storm Dance Troupe performed a routine at the last timeout. It's a good reminder that the Storm season is just around the corner. The WNBA Draft will take place on April 5 and training camps open in late April with Opening Night against Los Angeles scheduled for May 21.
Quality Sonics Defense
End First Quarter: Sonics 27, Utah 21
The Utah Jazz aren't exactly one of the league's most high-powered offenses, but the Sonics did a good job on them in a fairly fast-paced first quarter, holding Utah to 9-for-21 shooting (42.9%). The Sonics forced rookie Deron Williams to take four shots, and Williams hit just one of them for two points in the quarter. While Williams has great potential and is a streaky 3-point shooter, I'm sure the Sonics would be happy to make Williams beat them from the perimeter all night long.
Foul Trouble For Jazz
First Quarter: Sonics 27, Utah 20
The Utah Jazz's best two players (Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur) are both on the sidelines right now with two fouls. Credit goes to Rashard Lewis for getting Kirilenko in foul trouble. Lewis has been aggressive in the post against one of the league's best defensive small forwards, putting up nine points on 3-for-6 shooting. Alas, the Sonics haven't totally taken advantage of the foul trouble as Utah is hanging around. Earl Watson has provided the Sonics some nice energy since checking into the game at shooting guard
Sonics Open Up Early Lead
First Quarter: Sonics 16, Utah 7
The Sonics offense is clicking on all cylinders early in tonight's game. They've hit seven of their first nine shots to put 16 points on the board in just over five minutes and take a nine-point lead. Ball movement has been the key with the Sonics handing out assists on six of their seven baskets thus far - three apiece coming from Ray Allen to Luke Ridnour.
Utah's Jerry Sloan takes a timeout to try to change the momentum and slow the Sonics down.
USA Basketball Selects Ridnour
Pregame
Earlier today, Sonics point guard Luke Ridnour was one of 21 NBA players selected by USA Basketball to participate in this summer's tryout camp in July. From this camp, USAB will select the players who will make up the U.S. Senior Men's National Team for this summer's FIBA World Championship, which will be held in Saitama, Japan. A similar group will participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing should the U.S. qualify.
"I think it's wonderful," said Sonics Coach Bob Hill before tonight's game. "I've been involved in international basketball; I've coached in Italy and gone over to China. The international game is so difficult, much more physical. He's going to really grow from this by leaps and bounds."
Signing On
Pregame
The Utah Jazz take on the Sonics tonight at KeyArena in a matchup of Northwest Division rivals. At 28-30, the Jazz sits second in the Western Conference and within striking distance of the playoffs with a little more than a quarter of the season left. The road team has won all three matchups head-to-head this season, with the Jazz coming into KeyArena to win in late November but the Sonics sweeping Utah in Salt Lake City for the first time since 1991-92. They'll try tonight to win the season series with the Jazz for the second straight year. It should be a good one, so stay with us all night for updates and commentary.
