Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | May 5, 2005
It was just three short years ago - three years ago Tuesday, to be exact - that the Seattle SuperSonics and San Antonio Spurs hooked up in the playoffs. In the 2002 First Round, the seventh-seeded Sonics squared off against the second-seeded Midwest Champion Spurs.
Going in, the series seemed like a classic contrast of strengths, San Antonio's imposing frontline of 
Tim Duncan (the NBA's MVP that season) and David Robinson pitted against the Sonics perimeter trio of Gary Payton, Brent Barry and 
Rashard Lewis.
The big question for the Sonics going in was injury. Lewis missed the last 10 games of the season with a sprained left ankle, while 
Vladimir Radmanovic missed 15 games late in the season with a sprained toe on his right foot. He returned for the final five games, but re-injured the toe in practice before the playoffs. (In a twist of fate, both Lewis and Radmanovic entered this year's playoffs as question marks because of injuries.)
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Rashard Lewis shoots over Tim Duncan during Game 1.
D. Clarke Evans/NBAE/Getty
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Despite being listed as doubtful, both Lewis and Radmanovic took the floor for Game 1. It didn't matter, as the Sonics were blown away in the third quarter. With the game tied at 52 at halftime, San Antonio outscored the Sonics 38-13 and never looked back in a 110-89 victory. Duncan recorded a triple-double of 21 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, while
Tony Parker added 21 points. The Sonics took some solace in the performance of
Vin Baker, an afterthought going into the series who had 22 points and seven rebounds.
After Game 1, the injury onus shifted to the Spurs. Robinson played only seven minutes because of a back injury. He did not play in Game 2, and the Sonics took advantage of the opportunity to steal a 98-90 win in Game 2. Seattle dominated the offensive glass, coming up with 19 offensive boards, four apiece by Baker (15 points, 10 boards) and Payton (21 points, 11 boards). Duncan had 32 points and 12 rebounds, but got less help from his Admiral-less teammates. Desmond Mason capped the game with a 360 dunk just before the buzzer.
Heading back to Seattle, the Spurs quickly regained control of the series. The Sonics fed off the KeyArena crowd to take an 11-2 lead early, but the veteran Spurs stayed composed. San Antonio came back to lead after one quarter and then owned the second quarter, taking an 18-point lead to the locker room and ending up with a 102-75 victory. Duncan had another double-double with 27 points and 13 rebounds, but the key was rookie Tony Parker, who played Payton even at the point, scoring 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting.
More damaging for the Sonics long-term was the loss of Lewis, who dislocated his left shoulder in Game 3 and was finished for the season. But the Sonics got a break of their own through tragedy, when Duncan's father passed away between Games 3 and 4 and Duncan chose to return to the Virgin Islands for the funeral and miss Game 4.
With the MVP absent, the Sonics stayed alive, dominating San Antonio in the first half 57-31. Behind the strong post play of Malik Rose (28 points, 13 rebounds), the Spurs made it respectable in the second half but still lost 91-79. Payton's triple-double (28 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) and a then career high of 23 points for rookie Radmanovic proved too much to overcome.
For Game 5, the series shifted back to San Antonio. Even with Robinson still sidelined by his back, the Sonics were never in the game. They set franchise playoff records by scoring only 10 points in the first quarter and 26 in the first half and trailed by an incredible 29 points at halftime. San Antonio cruised to a 101-78 domination, the Sonics shooting just 34.1% from the field. Payton scored 23 points, but on 8-for-26 shooting, and Barry (12 points) was the only other Sonics player in double-figures.
Barry's quiet series (he averaged only 7.8 points per game, down 6.6 from his regular-season average) was a key to the Sonics defeat. They were also hurt by the absence of Lewis, which left them without a reliable second shooter. On the other side, Parker came through in his first playoff series with 17.2 points per game on 50% shooting (53.3% from 3-point range) and Rose (16.6 points, 9.4 rebounds per game) made up for the absence of Robinson.
Despite the fact that the Sonics and Spurs were both Western Conference powers in the 1990s, they never met in the playoffs during the decade. Their only other postseason matchup came in 1982.
At 52-30, the Sonics had bounced back from a dismal 1980-81 (largely because of the return of Gus Williams, who had sat out the previous year in a contract dispute) to finish second in the Pacific Division. They beat Houston in three games to get to the Western Conference Semifinals. The Sonics were led by Williams, who was named to the All-NBA First Team after averaging 23.4 points per game. All-Star center Jack Sikma added 19.6 points and 12.7 rebounds and forward Lonnie Shelton rounded out the All-Star trio at 14.9 points per game.
The 1981-82 Spurs went 48-34 to capture the second of three straight Midwest Division Championships. As a result, the Spurs earned a fist-round bye. San Antonio boasted the NBA's top scoring duo, with George "The Iceman" Gervin averaging a league-best 32.3 points per game and Mike Mitchell - acquired in December from Cleveland - averaging 21.0 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Leading the attack was second-year point guard Johnny Moore, who led the NBA with 9.6 assists per game. (Moore was the Sonics second-round pick in 1979, but was sold to San Antonio on draft day.) In the middle, George Johnson was an offensive non-factor who led the NBA with 3.1 blocks per game.
Despite not having a bye, the Sonics got home-court advantage in the series by virtue of their superior record. It lasted 48 minutes. San Antonio stole a 95-93 win at the Kingdome in Game 1. The Sonics won Game 2 handily before the series shifted to San Antonio.
Down in Texas, the Sonics got a double dose of heartbreak. In both Games 3 and 4, they led late in the game only to see that advantage slip away as the Spurs won a pair of two-point games, 99-97 and 115-113. San Antonio closed out the series in Seattle with a 109-103 win despite a series-high 36 points from Gus Williams.
Sikma, now a Sonics assistant coach, recalls the series as disappointing.
"I think we could have stayed together longer as a group had we won," he says.
It was the last hurrah for the Sonics core that won the 1979 Championship, as the Sonics lost in the first round of the playoffs the next two years before the roster was broken up.
