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TONIGHT'S NOTES |
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Tim Duncan’s shot with no time remaining missed, allowing the Sonics to hang on for the win.
Neither team led by more than three points during the entire second half. There were 18 ties and 16 lead changes in the game.
Neither of the Sonics All-Stars, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, scored during the fourth quarter. Only six players combined on both teams scored in the period.
The Sonics improved to 2-3 all-time in Game 3 of a series they trail 2-0. Their only previous such win was in the 1992 Western Conference Semifinals vs. Utah.
Allen led the Sonics with 20 points despite shooting 6-for-23 from the field.
Antonio Daniels scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. He was 12-for-12 from the free-throw line, tying his playoff career highs in makes and attempts. Daniels’ eight rebounds were a season high and a playoff career high.
Jerome James scored a series-high 15 points, making all seven of his field-goal attempts.
The Sonics had five players in double-figures after only three managed that in Games 1 and 2.
Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 23 points. He shot 9-for-15 from the free-throw line.
Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker added 18 points apiece.
After the Sonics shot 23 free throws to San Antonio’s seven in the first half, the Spurs shot all 11 attempted during the third quarter. San Antonio ended up with a 34-33 advantage in attempts.
Seattle outrebounded San Antonio 48-37. Lewis tied his playoff career high with 10 boards.
The Spurs shot just 55.9% from the free-throw line, 50.0% (8-16) in the fourth quarter.
Duncan scored nine of the Spurs 16 points in the final period.
Rashard Lewis left the game for good with 3:34 to play with a hyperextended left big toe. Reggie Evans suffered a back contusion and did not play in the fourth quarter.
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May 12, 2005
SONICS COACH 
NATE MCMILLAN:
On the game:
We knew it was going to take hustle, scrapping, solid play on both ends of the floor for 48 minutes to have a chance to beat San Antonio. I thought these guys left everything on the floor. I thought we were aggressive on both ends of the floor and did a better job of taking away their transition points. We forced them into a half court game, and I thought we did a nice job of keeping them out of the paint, as opposed to the last two games.
On winning without scoring in the last 1:59:
When you play defense you can win without scoring a lot of points. Our defense came up with stops when we needed to and held until we were able to score. You have to defend whether or not your ball is going into the basket. Tonight we did that. We controlled the boards and didn’t give those guys second opportunities as we did in Games 1 and 2. Our defense was able to hold long enough until we could score some points.
On physical play:
We played the game they played in Games 1 and 2; they were the aggressors. They were the team that played the most physical in the first two games. They had us on our heels, were more aggressive and went right at us. We came out with a sense of urgency and were aggressive at both ends of the floor. It starts on the offensive end taking care of the ball, good shot selection so that you have a balanced floor. We did a nice job of that. We did a better job of defending their guards in the half court on (Tony) Parker and (Manu) Ginobili, not allowing those guys to get into our paint. They didn’t break us down defensively like they did in Games 1 and 2. And that requires all our guys - the guards keeping them in front of them and the bigs rotating to penetration.
On 
Antonio Daniels' performance:
He played big. He was very aggressive on the pick-and-rolls and attacked San Antonio. He made good decisions attacking with penetration, forcing them to play him, and when they did, he gave up the ball. He played with a lot of confidence. He was the difference in the game tonight.
GUARD ANTONIO DANIELS:
On the final play of the game:
In the playoffs, a lot of times it comes down to one stop. At the end we knew who they would go to, but they have some many weapons.
Vitaly (Potapenko) did a good job of keeping his body in front of him and forced him into a tough shot.
On the fourth quarter:
We played well as a team in the fourth quarter. We were aggressive throughout the course of the game. We ran our pick-and-rolls and tried to create mismatches. We tried to get to the rim and get to the foul line and we took advantage of it.
GUARD 
LUKE RIDNOUR:
On defending Parker:
It’s not just one guy, it’s the team. We all have to gang up and it involves a lot of rotations. We were more active. We’re not going to shut him down, but we’re just going to make it tough. Everyone is an important piece to make it as tough as possible.
On the Sonics attitude:
We came out aggressive. We used that crowd to our advantage. We’ve got to start showing some emotion. We’ve got to get into this. This is going to be a tough series and the more energy we can bring the better chance we have.
SAN ANTONIO HEAD COACH GREGG POPOVICH:
On the game:
Both teams got after it real well. We came up on the short end of the stick, but I thought our competitiveness was good. We had some problems handling middle pick-and-rolls for a good portion of the game and that really hurt us. They scored way too much in that regard. That had a big impact on the game and also our performance at the free-throw line was a single-handed great way to lose a game.
On the physical play:
Both teams are in the playoffs. It’s a contact sport and both the teams are going to be aggressive and physical. That’s just what’s expected. I thought the game was great both ways.
On his team's mistakes:
Unfortunately, we turned it over in transition after stops. We missed free throws at the other end quite often and that just really out us in a hole.
GUARD MANU GINOBILI:
On the game:
It’s tough to win like that. I think we have to give them a lot of credit. They played a great game … very tough … a lot of determination like I’ve said before. We aren’t going to pretend that we are so good and so far away from everybody. Tonight they were better than us and they won.
On the Spurs:
I think we did what we were expecting too. We wanted to play a close game, be really close in the last three minutes, and we thought we would have a great opportunity. I think we did that. We missed shots and free throws so it's hard to win like that.
On the stretch run:
In the last three minutes we missed everything. We missed 3s and lay-ups. Shots that we usually don’t miss. We know we aren’t the best free-throw shooting team in the league. Still, we had so many chances at winning it we have to take an optimistic point of view. We made too many mistakes on the other end but we know we did not play our best and we were close.
GUARD TONY PARKER:
On the game:
We hurt ourselves. We didn’t help ourselves at all. We missed free throws and we missed layups and missing a lot of good shots. At the end we still had a chance to win it. It’s kind of funny because I don’t know if we should have won that game. We threw it away with missing free throws.
On the positives from this game:
I thought we competed pretty well. We played pretty good defense and I thought we matched their energy pretty well. At that level you just can’t miss free throws like that - it’s going to hurt you in the end.
2004-05 Postgame Quotes/Notes Archive
