Sonics (2-6) 91, Portland (4-4) 87
Preseason
October 29, 2004
SONICS COACH NATE MCMILLAN:
On the game:
It was a good game. I thought we scrapped and hustled and didn't give in. We had too many turnovers but I think you see having some guys back, Ray (Allen), made a difference. We needed some big baskets and he was able to knock down some shots. I thought our defense picked up in the second half. We didn't give up as many transition buckets. I liked the intensity we played with tonight.
On who played well:
Tonight Ray was able to keep it close by knocking down some shots. We went to him a lot with 32 points. He kept us in the game and defensively we had some guys make some plays tonight. I thought Reggie (Evans) did a nice job on their post players along with rebounding the ball. Danny (Fortson) came in for us and did a nice job on Zach (Randolph) and (Shareef) Abdur-Rahim. Luke (Ridnour) and A.D. (Antonio Daniels) did a good job of controlling the tempo of the game. They kept the game at the pace we want to play.
On Allen's game-winner:
I thought it was good ball movement. A.D. didn't feel comfortable with the shot he had. That is how you have to play out on the floor. That is how you have to play the game. You have to know what is going on. A.D. had the shot but Ray had an even better shot and he was open and A.D. rotated the ball to a guy who had the hot hand. It was great awareness by A.D.
On Allen playing 42 minutes:
He wanted to play as if it was a regular-season game. He and I talked about it and he felt his back was stiffening up whenever I would sit him during the preseason games. He wanted to get a good run in tonight. We played him just like a regular-season game.
On whether he wanted to win tonight:
No question. You want to win all games. Tonight I felt like we came out with the intensity that we needed to win the game. We have some guys playing well and doing some things that we do well which is defense, set some picks and basically I coached it like it was a regular-season game. We played match-ups. I played guys who were hot out on the floor. We subbed to give ourselves the advantage.
PORTLAND COACH MAURICE CHEEKS:
On the game:
That was a heck of a game. Ray Allen just kills us. I swear, he kills us. I thought it was a heck of a game. Our guys played extremely hard but we didn't make the defensive switches down the stretch. That's what preseason is for. We can learn from it and see some of those things we can do in the regular season. That was just another example of what preseason is for.
On Sebastian Telfair's performance:
He looked like a seasoned veteran, didn't he? He's certainly a capable backup guard. I've said it before - if he doesn't play, it wasn't because he couldn't. You saw it tonight and you saw it other preseason games, he understands about playing this game. His quickness is just unbelievable.
On Ruben Patterson's performance:
He plays as hard as anybody that I've seen since I've been in the league. I don't know how many years I've been in the league. I'm talking about as hard as anybody I've seen since I've been around. You've got to find ways to put a guy like that on the floor.
On his team:
We experimented with a lot of lineups throughout the preseason. I think we gave a lot of young guys chances to play, namely Sebastian. He has showed he can play under any circumstances.
I like our team. I like what we have when we put all our pieces together. I like our chances. I like the energy that we put on the floor.
Notes:
The Sonics and the Blazers split two preseason games. Portland still holds a 30-25 advantage in the all-time preseason series.
Down 82-78 with under four minutes to play, the Blazers reeled off seven straight points to take the lead. Ray Allen answered with five straight points of his own to give the Sonics the lead with 1:01 to play.
After Zach Randolph tied the game with two free throws, Allen's three with 24.6 seconds left gave the Sonics the lead for good.
After trailing by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, the Sonics used a 9-0 run to get within two at halftime.
Allen netted preseason highs of 32 points and six three-pointers. Allen scored double-figures in all five preseason games he saw action in and 20-plus points three times. He ended the preseason averaging 23.6 points per game. That mark is tops in the NBA.
Sonics forward Reggie Evans scored double-figures for the second straight game, finishing with 13. Guard Luke Ridnour scored a preseason-high 14 points, adding six assists.
Evans grabbed seven rebounds and averaged 9.2 in the preseason.
Ruben Patterson came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points for the Blazers on 8-for-11 shooting. Patterson beat the third-quarter buzzer with a three to give Portland a 68-66 lead.
Darius Miles added 16 points and Zach Randolph 14 and nine rebounds for the Blazers.
Seattle shot 49.3% (33-67) to Portland's 38.4% (33-86). The Sonics hit 11-of-25 from three-point range (44.0%).
The Sonics still finished the preseason with their worst exhibition record since 1985, when they went 1-6.
Only eight Portland players traveled and saw action.
Sonics forward Danny Fortson fouled out in 19 minutes of action.
2004-05 Postgame Quotes/Notes Archive
