Live From the Press Box - Sonics vs. New York
Want to enjoy the electricity of at KeyArena 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 quotes, analysis and observations from the game. E-mail Kevin at sonicsconnection@sonics-storm.com. Make sure to keep coming back or refreshing so you get the latest content.
Stop Means Sonics Win
Final: Sonics 86, New York 85
On their final possession, the Knicks went to Zach Randolph, who faced up against Kurt Thomas about 20 feet from the basket on the right win. After Randolph held for a couple of beats, the Sonics sent Earl Watson to double-team. That left Nate Robinson open, and Randolph found him for the attempt at the go-ahead three, but it was off. The rebound carried long near halfcourt and by the time Delonte West recovered the basketball, the clock had already ran out. Sonics win and the crowd erupted to the strains of Rock and Roll, Part 2.
This was a game the Sonics won with rebounding and defense. The 85 points they allowed ties a season low (previously done Tuesday against San Antonio). The rebounding margin in this game was simply incredible. The Sonics had a 55-36 advantage despite both teams missing about the same number of shots. The Sonics had 19 offensive rebounds to just three by New York. That was a team effort led by double-figures efforts from Nick Collison (12 rebounds) and Chris Wilcox (10). Wilcox added 20 points for his third straight double-double. Earl Watson had nine points and eight assists against just one turnover. The bench was productive, with Delonte West playing 30 big minutes. Kevin Durant hit the big three and pulled down seven rebounds.
The Sonics will look to close out this homestand strong Monday against the Chicago Bulls. As I already mentioned, it's Nick Collison Bobblehead Night. The action on the court has been hot, with thrilling finishes throughout this homestand. You won't want to miss this game, so 
get your tickets now!
On the Defense
Fourth Quarter: Sonics 86, New York 85
Jamal Crawford's runner brought the Knicks within one. After a timeout, the Sonics had Kevin Durant driving, but a Knicks player poked the ball away from behind and New York recovered. The Knicks will have it with a chance to take the lead after a timeout. There's 19.8 seconds left and the shot clock is off. It's on the Sonics defense now to win this game.
Durant's Three Gives Sonics Back Lead
Fourth Quarter: Sonics 86, New York 83
After walking the Sonics down, the New York Knicks tied the game on a Zach Randolph jumper with 1:20 left to play. Sonics rookie Kevin Durant wasn't fazed. He coolly stroked a three-pointer from the left of the top of the arc with 59.0 seconds left as the Sonics went back on top. With 54.5 seconds remaining, New York will have the ball after this timeout looking to get back within one or tie with a three. There's still plenty of time remaining, but the KeyArena crowd is on its feet after the big shot.
Maintaining Lead at the Line
Fourth Quarter: Sonics 82, New York 79
As the Knicks try to come from behind during this fourth quarter, the Sonics have relied on free throws to maintain their advantage. Their last three possessions have ended at the line, with Kevin Durant twice drawing fouls and Chris Wilcox going to the stripe in between. The Sonics are a solid 14-of-18 on free throws tonight, so getting to the line is a good strategy. The Knicks continue to go to Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph, who have combined to score their last seven points.
Sonics on the Run
Fourth Quarter: Sonics 73, New York 69
Scrappy defense has given the Sonics a four-point lead and forced an Isiah Thomas timeout to quiet the crowd. After Luke Ridnour untied the game by following his own miss with a shot off glass and in, Delonte West poked the ball away from the Knicks and secured it just in time to throw ahead to Damien Wilkins all by his lonesome for the dunk finish. West hasn't been able to find the touch - he's 2-of-11 from the field and 1-of-6 from downtown - but he's been active defensively during an extended run tonight, coming up with a pair of steals.
Over the last six-plus minutes of this game, the Sonics will be in good shape if they can slow Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph. Those two have scored 40 of New York's 69 points and no other Knicks player has scored double-figures.
Q&A: Nate Robinson
End Third Quarter: Sonics 63, New York 61
Before tonight's game, I had a chance to chat with Knicks guard Nate Robinson about playing in his hometown, his recent strong play and more.
How difficult was it to have to miss the trip back to Seattle last year?
Oh man, it was hard. Honestly. Words can't even express how I felt. At the same time, everybody's here, supportive of the movement that we made at the University of Washington with me, Brandon, Bobby Jones, Mike Jensen, Tre Simmons, Will Conroy, all the way down the line and what Coach (Lorenzo) Romar brought. The buzz is crazy. They've picked up on it, and now you've got guys in the NBA doing a great job, even guys in Seattle. It was tough not to play here.
Speaking of Huskies, what was it like trading buckets down the stretch with Brandon Roy last night in Portland?
It was great. Just to see where BRoy came from, him and myself - fans yelling 'MVP' and he had a triple-double, his first year as an All-Star. It's great. He's blessed and all of us who came out of Seattle are blessed. Thank God that hard work pays off.
How many people do you have in the crowd tonight?
About 50, 55 people. We've got a lot of people here. It's fun. I encouraged everybody to come out - fans of the UW, fans of the New York Knicks, fans of Nate Robinson - come out and support.
What has this last month been like, getting more minutes and putting up strong numbers?
It's been good, a confidence booster. I'm feeling better out there on the court, playing well. I'm just having fun and playing hard, trying to win games. That's the key.
Sonics Getting Production Up Front
Third Quarter: Sonics 60, New York 56
Getting their second three-pointer of the game from Earl Watson, the Sonics have pushed their lead to four points. I mentioned Nick Collison at the last break, but he merits another comment. Collison is a point away from a double-double, having pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds in 21 minutes of work. And Chris Wilcox is one rebound away from his third straight double-double, with 16 points and nine boards. That would make the second time in the last three games Collison and Wilcox have both thrown up double-doubles.
Before the timeout, the Sonics pulled off one of my favorite plays to see from a defense: Forcing a five-second inbounds violation in a random situation. Damien Wilkins pressured the passer and the Knicks were caught off guard and turned it over. In a close game, that's a big possession to steal.
Sonics Reclaim the Lead
Third Quarter: Sonics 47, New York 46
An 11-4 Sonics spurt, capped by a Kevin Durant layup in transition, has put the home team back in the lead and drawn an Isiah Thomas timeout four and a half minutes into the third quarter. Well less than halfway through the period, the Sonics already have 13 points - just four shy of their total in each of the first two quarters. Nick Collison has stepped in at center for Kurt Thomas, who picked up his third foul early in the third, and done a good job.
This doesn't have anything to do with anything, but I wanted to mention it. There's a Sonics fan sitting below me in Section 114 wearing an authentic Dontonio Wingfield warmup, circa 1994-95. Where do you get that? There's also a fan to my left with a Dale Ellis warmup, though that one makes a little more sense because of Ellis' long, productive Sonics career.
Low-Scoring First Half
Halftime: New York 38, Sonics 34
What's the opposite of a microcosm? Whatever it is, we saw it at the end of tonight's first half. After the Sonics struggled to make a shot all half long, hitting 39.0%, Earl Watson threw in a 75-footer just after the halftime buzzer. It did not count. The only consistent offense for the Sonics has come from forward Chris Wilcox, who has 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting and continues to give the Sonics very good minutes.
On the New York side, much of the same except for Jamal Crawford. Crawford had 14 points in the first half on 5-of-11 shooting. He had another couple of three-pointers look good but go in and out, sparing the Sonics from further damage. It's a dramatic change for Crawford from last night, when he shot 6-of-27 from the field as the Knicks lost to Portland.
Back and Forth
Second Quarter: Sonics 31, New York 28
In part because the game has been so low scoring, neither side has been able to open up a real significant lead so far tonight. I think the biggest advantage so far has been six by the Sonics - at 6-0. As a result, a couple of made buckets in a row feels like a major run and Isiah Thomas called a quick timeout with his team only lightly slumping.
Monday is the first of three Sonics bobblehead nights this season, as the first 10,000 fans will get Nick Collison bobbleheads and one lucky fan will win a courtside seat upgrade and a chance to meet Nick along with the special golden bobblehead. As a matter of fact, I just saw the golden bobblehead a moment ago. It's under the watchful eye of Sonics marketing until Monday night, and as tempting is it might be to accost with it before then, I've managed to refrain. For more on the Sonics bobbleheads and ticket information, check out this article put together by SUPERSONICS.COM Intern Jonathan Tallariti.
Watch Out
Second Quarter: Sonics 27, New York 26
The Sonics have a one-point lead, but Knicks guard Jamal Crawford may be heating up. Crawford now has eight points on 3-of-6 after parlaying a tight crossover into a jumper in the face of his defender. I recapped the Seattle native's impressive history at KeyArena in Insider Preview today, but in case you missed it: He scored all 31 of his points in the second half of a Knicks win in December 2005. Last year, Crawford shot poorly (8-of-26), but had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He had another 31-point effort in Seattle in February 2004 with Chicago.
Size Mismatch
Second Quarter: Sonics 23, New York 21
With starting center Eddy Curry out with the flu, Isiah Thomas has been throwing some of the shortest lineups this side of Don Nelson on the court tonight. Late in the first quarter, the Knicks had a lineup that went 6-11 (Jared Jeffries, normally a small forward), 6-8 (Renaldo Balkman) and 6-6 (Quentin Richardson) along the front line, with a 5-9 point guard (Nate Robinson). Curry's running mate, Zach Randolph, hasn't been a big factor so far tonight. He's yet to score and has just one rebound.
Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo hasn't really changed up his lineup despite the Knicks playing small. That's led to some interesting matchups. When the Sonics were in a zone in the first quarter, Chris Wilcox lined up next to Nate Robinson during an inbounds play, though they weren't really matched up with each other. The Knicks have even had a height advantage at times at shooting guard, where 6-3 Delonte West has played heavy minutes for the Sonics.
Sonics Lead After One
End First Quarter: Sonics 17, New York 15
The Sonics have to feel fortunate to lead after the first quarter despite clearly not playing their best basketball. Nick Collison's layup on the team's last possession of the period gave the Sonics the advantage and brought hteir team shooting percentage to 35.0%. The Knicks shot 30.0%. Despite all the misses, there were surprisingly few offensive rebounds - Kevin Durant had the only one in the quarter.
Sonics Look for a Spark
First Quarter: New York 13, Sonics 12
The Sonics haven't played poorly, but they are missing something of a spark in the first quarter of this game. Looking to get the team going, P.J. Carlesimo has gone to his bench early and often. With Luke Ridnour and Johan Petro checking in at this timeout, four bench players will have gotten into the game. Wally Szczerbiak has not played yet, so he may be dressed only in case the Sonics need him because of another injury or foul trouble.
Also dressed for the Sonics is center Robert Swift. Swift is cleared to play in games and could play tonight if he had to, but Carlesimo would like to avoid that and wait until Swift has had a chance to scrimmage 5-on-5.
"I want to see him play before he goes out there," Carlesimo said.
That opportunity could come when the Sonics practice Tuesday or Thursday. After playing in Phoenix a week from yesterday, the Sonics will have an extended stretch off which will be more conducive to practicing.
Defense Rules Early Going
First Quarter: Sonics 8, New York 4
After the Sonics ran out to an early 6-0 lead, both teams have clamped down on defense, allowing little in the way of scoring. New York is shooting just 20% from the field, while the Sonics aren't much better at 33.3%. Getting off to a good start could be important against a Knicks squad that is playing the second of a back-to-back and the last game of a five-game road trip, but Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo downplayed the need to start well before the game. Carlesimo has seen too many 12-2 leads turn into 20-19 deficits.
With the month of February upon us, the Sonics are celebrating Black History Month. Before the game, rookie Jeff Green took the mike to thank fans for their support and mention the importance of the month. During this first timeout, a Green interview on SonicsVision features him talking about important African-Americans in his life.
Green to Sit
Pregame
The Sonics will be without rookie forward Jeff Green tonight after Green sprained his left ankle in Thursday's win over Cleveland. Green's absence continues a strange trend - the three Sonics who had played all of the team's games have now missed consecutive games - first Damien Wilkins on Tuesday, then Wally Szczerbiak on Thursday and now Green tonight. That leaves no Sonics with perfect attendance this season.
Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo hadn't counted on having Szczerbiak in the lineup tonight, but the veteran swingman gave it a go before tonight's game and has joined the team on the floor for pregame warmups and is likely available. As for how Green would be replaced in the starting lineup, Carlesimo was uncertain before the game but it looks like Wilkins is going to get the call. He's still less than 100% after dealing with the flu, but Wilkins played 13 minutes on Thursday and is getting healthy.
Signing On
Pregame
The New York Knicks are at KeyArena tonight as the Sonics continue their seven-game homestand and try to extend their two-game winning streak. The visit by the Knicks means a homecoming for a pair of players, guards Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson, who both played at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle (Robinson also playing collegiately at UW). Crawford and Robinson have frequently been paired together in the backcourt recently for a Knicks team that played its best basketball in January. This should be a good matchup between two teams who staged a thriller in December at Madison Square Garden, so stay with us all night long for the latest.
