Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | May 17, 2005
SAN ANTONIO - Before his Seattle SuperSonics took on the San Antonio Spurs in Tuesday's Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinals series, Sonics Coach
Nate McMillan told reporters that the first and third quarters of the game would be the most important his team would play all season. That made it difficult when his team got off to slow starts in each half and could not overcome the deficit in the second half of a 103-90 loss.
"We missed shots," said guard 
Antonio Daniels. "I believe we started 0-for-7 and 1-for-10 or something like that. When you start like that, it's tough. This is already one of the toughest places to play. When you dig yourself in a hole, that makes it that much tougher."
In the first half, the Sonics were able to dig out of that hole. While they never led in the game, the Sonics outscored San Antonio 32-25 in the second quarter behind 15 of 
Ray Allen's team-high 19 points to tie the game at 50 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
|
"We missed shots. I believe we started 0-for-7 and 1-for-10. When you start like that, it's tough."
Chris Birck/NBAE/Getty
|
|
But the Spurs scored the first six points of the second half and never looked back, allowing the Sonics to get no closer than five points during the fourth quarter.
Things might have been different had Allen not missed his last five shots, including several that looked good but rimmed out.
"I think four or five shots went in and popped back out," said Allen, who shot 8-for-19 from the field. "I couldn't get mad. The only frustrating thing is when I do get a shot off - it seemed like it looked good and felt good - it just went in and out."
In one particularly disappointing series that started with the Sonics trailing by seven points, an Allen 3 attempt bounced out and the Spurs got a 3 from Bruce Bowen at the other end to push the lead back to 10, a major momentum swing.
"That's, right there, a six-point swing," said Allen.
The Sonics also missed All-Star forward 
Rashard Lewis, who sat out for the second straight game because of a painful sprained left toe. Lewis could have been the difference in the slow starts to each half.
"As much as you talk about what we did last game, tonight was a night we missed him, because we did need that scoring from another angle," said Allen. "It's one thing to play without him for one game, but to keep playing without him … I missed him out there tonight."
Allen also felt the Sonics began to rush during the third quarter after the Spurs initial surge of energy, matched by a noisy SBC Center crowd.
"In the second half, we weren't patient enough," Allen said. "We tried to make the quick play and didn't play with each other."
On the other side, the Spurs got a brilliant performance from guard Manu Ginobili, who returned to the starting lineup for the first time since the opening game of the playoffs. The Argentine made 10 of his 15 shot attempts, scoring a Playoffs career high of 39 points. Ginobili made four 3-pointers and got to the free-throw line 17 times, converting 15 of them.
"He hit a couple of 3s to get himself going," said Daniels, one of several Sonics faced with the task of slowing Ginobili. "When a guy starts hitting 3s, you have to respect him a little bit, and he started lowering his head and getting to the rim."
During the decisive third quarter, Ginobili scored 14 points.
Center Nazr Mohammed also stepped up for the Spurs, scoring 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds, on a night when MVP Tim Duncan was merely very good. Duncan had 2 points and 4 rebounds, but shot 9-for-21 from the field and missed four of his six free-throw attempts. He also committed four turnovers.
The Sonics also limited guard Tony Parker to 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting.
Now, the Sonics face a must-win Game 6 Thursday at KeyArena in the hopes of returning to San Antonio for a decisive Game 7 on Sunday. Lewis is listed as a game-time decision for Thursday's game.
"This Game 6 will test our heart, it will test our character," said Daniels, one of two Sonics who have played in the semifinals before. "It will test our camaraderie. This is what the playoffs are all about."
Rookie forward 
Nick Collison was called for the first technical of his NBA career during the third quarter, with San Antonio forward Bruce Bowen assessed a technical at the same time.
