Live From the Press Box - Sonics vs. Memphis
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.
Sonics Win With Defense
Final: Sonics 108, Memphis 101
It seems strange to talk first and foremost about defense in a game where the Sonics allowed 101 points, but that really was the key for the Sonics in the second half and particularly down the stretch. They held the Memphis Grizzlies scoreless over the last 3:02 of the game, scoring the final 10 points to earn a seven-point victory. The Grizzlies were limited to 39 points after halftime, shooting 32.6% from the field in that span.
Earl Watson was outstanding for the Sonics at both ends and scored a season-high 26 points, hitting his first eight shots and 11-of-13 overall. He also handed out nine assists. Wally Szczerbiak came off the bench to score 24 points, including critical baskets down the stretch. Delonte West did a strong job filling in for Kevin Durant, handing out seven assists in 33 minutes of work. Jeff Green had nine rebounds and came up with some big plays in the fourth quarter.
The Sonics play their I-5 rivals, the Portland Trail Blazers, in a home-and-home set Thursday in Portland (on TNT) and Friday right here at the Key. Don't miss the first visit of the season by the surprising Blazers, including a homecoming for Seattle native and All-Star Brandon Roy. Get your tickets now for Friday's game!
Sonics Take Command
Fourth Quarter: Sonics 106, Memphis 101
When Grizzlies Assistant Coach Gordon Chiesa spent last year in the same role in Seattle, he emphasized "three stops" - the ability to make three straight defensive stops at the end of a late game, pulling away. Well, if you count two missed free throws by Jason Collins as still being a stop, the Sonics have six straight. In that span, they've gone from down three to up five.
Wally Szczerbiak had the crucial play. After blocking Rudy Gay's shot on one end, he went down to the other and hit a runner while being fouled to untie the game. The free throw made it a four-point advantage. After a stop, Earl Watson hit two free throws and Memphis now trails by five with just 17.9 seconds left.
All Even
Fourth Quarter: Memphis 101, Sonics 101
With 45.5 seconds left, the Grizzlies take a 20-second timeout after Brian Cardinal came up with the loose ball on a Jason Collins missed free throw. Memphis hasn't scored since the 3:02 mark. Rudy Gay was out of the game briefly after picking up his fifth foul on a charge, but is now back in there.
Living at the Line
Fourth Quarter: Memphis 101, Sonics 98
Free throws haven't really been a big part of this game, with the Grizzlies attempting 16 and the Sonics 19, but recently they have been key. Mike Conley, Jr. gave Memphis the lead with two makes at the 3:50 mark. Jeff Green put the Sonics back on top by hitting two of his own. After a Hakim Warrick alley-oop, Juan Carlos Navarro hit two free throws to give the Grizzlies a three-point lead. Now Green, who has had a solid outing tonight, is headed back to the line. Incidentally, if the Sonics lose, free throws might be the culprit - they're just 9-of-17 at the charity stripe.
Warrick has 22 points, and it's the third straight game he has scored 20 or more. He's really seizing the opportunity provided by the Pau Gasol trade, which moved him into the starting lineup.
Turnovers Hurting Sonics
Fourth Quarter: Memphis 94, Sonics 90
Turnovers have become a major issue for the Sonics during this fourth quarter of play. They had just 12 through the first three quarters, but have seven here in the final period. A lot of them have led directly to scores on the other end, including a Mike Conley layup moments ago. After the Sonics tied the game at 90 apiece, the Grizzlies have the game's lone two buckets.
The Sonics will finish with an awfully small lineup - Earl Watson and Delonte West in the backcourt, Wally Szczerbiak and Jeff Green at forward and Chris Wilcox manning the middle.
Grizzlies Rally
Fourth Quarter: Memphis 86, Sonics 83
All of a sudden, it is the Memphis Grizzlies who have control of the momentum in this game. They're on an 8-0 run since the Sonics took their largest lead at 83-80, getting a three-point play and a Brian Cardinal three-pointer to go back on top, now up 86-83. The Sonics will try to get going again after a timeout.
Sonics Take Lead to the Fourth
End Third Quarter: Sonics 80, Memphis 78
It was all Sonics in the third quarter, as they outscored Memphis 32-16 to come all the way back and take the lead heading to the fourth quarter. With 39.8 seconds left in the period, the Sonics took their first lead since early in the game when Nick Collison rebounded a missed free throw and fired to Wally Szczerbiak for a three. The Grizzlies reclaimed the advantage, but Earl Watson hit for three just before the buzzer to give the Sonics a two-point advantage.
Watson has been incredible tonight. He's got 22 points on 10-of=-11 shooting. That's just one point off his season high of 23 (set during his triple-double in Sacramento earlier in the month) and within striking distance of his career high of 28 points.
Sonics Turn Up D
Third Quarter: Memphis 71, Sonics 66
It's a 16-3 run as the Sonics have gotten within five with 2:55 left in the third quarter and Wally Szczerbiak headed to the free-throw line. The difference is defense for the Sonics. While the home team is still shooting the same 50% mark from the field they achieved in the first half, Memphis has shot 4-of-17 (23.5%) in this period. The Sonics have also forced four Grizzlies turnovers - more than the three Memphis had in the entirety of the first half. The Sonics have gotten some breaks - Juan Carlos Navarro has missed two good looks at triples. Still, if they keep defending at this level, they will win this game.
Sonics Build Momentum
Third Quarter: Memphis 69, Sonics 58
They have yet to make a huge dent in the Grizzlies lead, which is 11 after it was 14 at the half, but the Sonics have put together some solid play early in this third quarter, drawing a timeout from Memphis Head Coach Marc Iavaroni.
The Grizzlies are without starting guard Mike Miller right now. Miller is back in the locker room due to back spasms; Juan Carlos Navarro has replaced him in the Memphis lineup.
Grizzlies Dominate Second Quarter
Halftime: Memphis 62, Sonics 48
This is a combination of stats you won't see every day. The Sonics and Grizzlies are both shooting an even 50% at the half, but Memphis leads by 14 points. The Grizzlies have a 7-2 advantage from the foul line (the Sonics are just 2-of-6 on their free throws) and have just three turnovers, while the Sonics have eight.
Simply, the Sonics have to find a way to stop Memphis. The Grizzlies are again getting big contributions from their wings. Rudy Gay leads all scorers with 15 points at the half, and Juan Carlos Navarro has 12, including a pair of threes in as many attempts. Hakim Warrick also had a nice first half with 12 points and five boards.
Cash Courtside
Second Quarter: Memphis 54, Sonics 44
Sitting in the best seats in the house tonight is the newest member of the Seattle Storm, forward Swin Cash. Cash was acquired from the Detroit Shock in a trade announced earlier this evening and joins her former UConn teammate Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson as the Storm's All-Star core. Read more about the move on
storm.wnba.com.
Speaking of trades, the NBA's deadline is coming up on Thursday and Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo was asked whether he anticipates the team making a deal. Carlesimo responded that because the ratio of deals that are talked about to those that are actually completed is so low, he doesn't.
"Thursday at 12:01 (p.m.), then we'll see," said Carlesimo.
Grizzlies Open Up Lead
Second Quarter: Memphis 44, Sonics 37
Memphis' current seven-point advantage is their largest of the night. The Sonics have been unable to keep up their hot shooting pace (which was probably inevitable). After shooting 65.0% from the field in the first quarter, they've hit just four of 14 shots in the second period, good for 28.6%.
Funny interaction between a courtside fan and the Memphis bench and a fan courtside, who asked reserve Brian Cardinal how old he is. Cardinal mouthed the answer - 30. "And you're still getting time," the fan responded. "I respect that." Cardinal - better known as The Custodian in these parts - answered with a point and a smile. Have I mentioned lately that Cardinal is one of my favorite players in the NBA?
Congrats Brock!
Second Quarter: Memphis 37, Sonics 34
Our winner of the Kevin Durant Golden Bobblehead was announced at the last timeout and taken to his seats at courtside. It's young Brock who will take home the special gold bobblehead and sit in those seats, accompanied by friend John and their fathers. Brock and John also won Durant jerseys that they are sporting at courtside.
Keep in mind that youv'e got one more opportunity to be golden. The last Sonics bobblehead night of the season comes March 14, when the Sonics host Minnesota. And you can still take advantage of 
a special $10 ticket offer for that game.
Fast Pace of Play
End First Quarter: Memphis 31, Sonics 27
Both of these teams like to run, the Sonics slightly more so than the Grizzlies, and it's been an up-tempo game in the early going. The Grizzlies had 26 possessions in the first quarter, the Sonics 25, putting us on pace to go over 100 for the evening. The Sonics have only seven such games this season.
The fast pace means the offenses look a little better in terms of their points scored than they have really played. Still, the Grizzlies, shooting an even 50% from the field, have found points easy to come by. The difference between tonight and the last two meetings is that the Sonics have been able to keep up with them. That will give them the opportunity to tighten up their D and take the lead.
Swift Gets a Look
First Quarter: Memphis 21, Sonics 19
It appeared that Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo was going to hold off on any changes to his rotation until later this week, but Robert Swift was one of the first two big men off the bench for the Sonics in this first quarter, joining Nick Collison to replace Chris Wilcox and Kurt Thomas.
Carlesimo reiterated before tonight's game that Swift is going to get an opportunity to play during the second half of the season and has the opportunity to determine how much he plays the rest of the way.
"There will be clearly an element of playing well and taking advantage of the situation," said Carlesimo. "In Robert's case probably more so than anyone else."
How well Swift plays and, maybe more importantly, how his knee responds to regular action will determine his playing time the rest of the way - but the Sonics want to see what a healthy Swift can do.
Backcourt Powers Sonics
First Quarter: Sonics 17, Memphis 17
With Delonte West filling in for Kevin Durant, the Sonics have gotten strong early production from their backcourt. West has been aggressive and effective, scoring a team-high seven points. Former Grizzly Earl Watson has been hitting from the outside and has added six. Together, they've got 13 on 6-for-7 shooting as the Sonics have hit a cool 61.5% from the field.
Signing On
Pregame
We're back at KeyArena tonight as the Sonics kick off post-All-Star play against the Memphis Grizzlies. It's Kevin Durant Bobblehead Night, which makes the news disappointing to report. Durant came back from the All-Star break feeling ill and will not play tonight due to flu-like symptoms. He is recuperating at home.
"He looks terrible," said Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo. Carlesimo will start Delonte West in Durant's place, hoping to get better defense against the Memphis wings than the Sonics have in their first three matchups with the Grizzlies, all losses, the two in Memphis lopsided.
Even without Durant we have two of the top five picks of the NBA Draft on the court in Jeff Green and Memphis' Mike Conley, Jr. This should be an exciting showcase of some top young talent, so stay with us all night long for the latest.
