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Sonics Playoff Homepage Sonics Notebook Live From The Press Box - Game 3 Sonics News Archive

The NBA Playoffs are a game of stars, but neither of the Sonics All-Stars, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, scored in the last 17:08 of the game. Allen reached 20 points with a jumper midway through the third period, but would miss his final seven shots as he finished the game shooting 6-for-23 from the field. Lewis left the game for good with a sprained left big toe with 3:34 to play, having been limited to 12 points to that point.

Nonetheless, the Sonics pulled out a 92-91 victory over the Spurs that owes to the performance of their role players. Five Sonics scored double-figures and Luke Ridnour added nine points in a balanced performance that was a dramatic turnaround from the first two games of this series, when only three Sonics - Allen, Lewis and Antonio Daniels - scored in double-figures in either game.

"We've all got to be ready to play when our number is called. It's been that way all year," said rookie forward Nick Collison, who had 10 points and six rebounds, after the Sonics practiced Friday. "We've had some injuries, but I think (Coach) Nate (McMillan) is confident in everybody that's suiting up to play. When you get out there, I think everyone's confident they're going to play well. It's a good feeling to have."

"He's Tim Duncan, he's an All-Star and he should hit that shot. This time he missed it." Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images

Collison was called on when Lewis went down with the injury. He responded, scoring a layup with 2:30 to play to put the Sonics ahead for good, 90-88.

"We've been playing with so many different lineups all year, I didn't really feel like the game would change that much," said Collison of replacing Lewis. "We would just find another way to score. We didn't score much, but we got enough stops to win the ballgame. When guys go down, we don't panic; we just try to play with what we have out there."

His roster down to eight players after starting center Jerome James fouled out with 1:46 to play, McMillan called on backup Vitaly Potapenko, who did not play in Game 2. With the Sonics clinging to a two-point lead, Potapenko forced Tim Duncan into a miss on the Spurs next possession. Then, with 2.9 seconds left on the clock and San Antonio trailing by one, the Spurs went back to Duncan. Potapenko forced the two-time MVP just far enough away from the basket that Duncan's potential game-winner was short as the Sonics held on for the win.

"He's Tim Duncan, he's an All-Star and he should hit that shot," Potapenko told the Seattle Times. "This time he missed it. ... All I was trying to do was get my body on him and not commit a foul because that late in the game you don't want it to end like that."

The Sonics bench was led by Daniels' 18 points. While Daniels shot just 3-for-9 from the field, his aggressive drives to the basket resulted in 12 free throws. With San Antonio clanging its free-throw attempts, Daniels was a perfect 12-for-12 from the line. He also added eight rebounds, a season high.

"If you go to the hole, you should expect to be hit," said Daniels. "You get to the line, that's what you want. That's why you attack the rim - to get to the line and get free throws."

After starring in the First Round against Sacramento, when he averaged 17.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game to key the Sonics five-game series victory, James took some heat when he combined for only 12 points on 6-for-17 shooting in the first two games against San Antonio. But the Spurs strategy of double-teaming the ballhandler on high pick-and-rolls left James roaming free in Game 3, and he took full advantage.

James scored 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting. Six of his seven shot attempts were dunks, and two of them drew fouls as well.

"That's what I grew up doing," said James. "You get around that basket, you're tall, you're athletic, dunk it. Make them block you."

The Sonics center isn't ready for his season to end any time soon.

"It's like the kid on the [TNT] commercials: Win or go home," said James. "Frankly, my house isn't finished, so I'm not ready to go home."

While on Thursday it was the Sonics role players making headlines, not the stars, James gave all the credit right back to Allen for his performance.

"People want to talk about his shooting percentage, but look at his assist-to-turnover ratio," said James (Allen handed out seven assists, three to James). "Talk about how many guys finished at the basket after Tim and those guys helped on him and he found the right dude at the right time. Last night, I dribbled once. Everything else, it was catch and jump."