Jimcs50
05-18-2005, 08:16 AM
By Percy Allen
Seattle Times staff reporter
Seattle’s Ray Allen is hit beneath the basket by Brent Barry (17) and Tim Duncan. The Spurs slowed the Sonics’ top scorer early and late, holding him to 19 points.
SAN ANTONIO — The opening onslaught didn't subdue the Sonics, who withstood an early San Antonio flurry and tied the score at halftime.
The second onrush, however, was too much for Seattle to overcome as the Spurs stormed out of intermission and sealed last night's 103-90 victory at the SBC Center with a third-quarter spurt that gave them a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
If the Sonics are to avoid elimination, then they'll have to push their perfect playoff home record to six straight games tomorrow at KeyArena.
Perhaps by then Rashard Lewis will return to the court. The All-Star forward missed his second straight game last night because of a sprained left big toe suffered in Game 3 on Thursday.
The Sonics also are missing reserve forward Vladimir Radmanovic, their third-leading scorer from the regular season, who suffered a series-ending right ankle sprain in the opener.
"Every game is a must-win now," Daniels said. "We can't afford to lose a game, obviously. So this Game 6, it will test our heart. It will test our character and it will test our camaraderie, but this is what the playoffs are all about."
The Spurs solved several riddles that had been puzzling them until last night. They changed their defense on the pick-and-rolls and double-teamed Ray Allen early, which disrupted his offense.
For the first time in the series, they were able to get someone not named Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker to have a big night. And to the detriment of the Sonics, center Nazr Mohammed, like Ginobili (39 points), finished with a career-best playoff performance (19).
And finally, they won a Game 5 after losing the previous two in consecutive years.
"We were on a bit of a slide, losing Game 3 at the end and then getting beat pretty bad in Game 4," Spurs forward Bruce Bowen said. "We came in with an understanding that this is no slouch team and we had to be ready."
Seattle's Antonio Daniels is sent flying by San Antonio's Robert Horry, who was called for a foul on the play in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, the Sonics once again weren't ready for the tempest they faced at SBC Center. In three games here, they've held the lead for less than a minute and never had an advantage last night.
Still, after being outscored 25-18 in the first quarter and falling behind by nine (27-18) early in the second, Seattle scored 32 points in the second quarter and tied the score 50-50 at halftime.
"I think they were probably a little nervous in their locker room because of that," Allen said. "I thought we never built rhythm offensively to keep the game going. We only had 12 assists, and that's not going to get the job done."
Seattle's decimated lineup forced coach Nate McMillan to rely upon a three-guard unit for a second straight game, with Daniels starting and Allen taking the bulk of the shots.
Unlike Sunday's improbable victory in Game 4, the Sonics' defense, particularly their assignments on Ginobili, was maligned.
"Too many times they got into the paint, and [Ginobili] got to the free-throw line 17 times," McMillan said. "So when he wasn't scoring, he was getting to the free-throw line. A couple of times, we kept him out and then he knocked down a three."
The whirling-dervish All-Star guard returned to the starting lineup after an eight-game experiment in which Brent Barry started.
Ginobili scored 14 of his career-playoff-high 39 points in the decisive third quarter, when San Antonio outscored Seattle 28-18 and led by as many as 16 (74-58) with 5:29 remaining.
Ginobili was relentless, scoring 15 points at the free-throw line and proving extremely accurate from long distance, converting four three-pointers. He also had six assists and four rebounds.
"Inside and outside, he had us running around and he hit some big shots," reserve Sonics forward Damien Wilkins said. "We did a good job on everybody else, but Manu, he just did us tonight."
Because Ginobili was so good and Mohammed finished with a surprising 19 points that equaled his output in the first four games, the Spurs could afford a typical effort from Duncan, who had 20 points and 14 rebounds. They didn't get much from Parker, who missed nine of 13 shots and finished with 11 points.
The Sonics, however, had very little room for error without Lewis and Radmanovic.
They needed to force more than nine turnovers — on Sunday they forced 23 — and they needed to convert more than 3 of 13 three-pointers.
Seattle needed another 32-point performance out of Allen, and all he could muster was 19 of the quietest points you've ever seen. He didn't score his first point until 11:11 in the second quarter and had just one point in the third.
Daniels filled in admirably and tallied 17, and Nick Collison had 14 off the bench. Luke Ridnour finished with 12 points and six assists, and center Jerome James chipped in 10 points.
"They beat us tonight, but we're not going to sit back and say that they are a better team because they beat us tonight," Allen said. "We win up there and then we come back down here and win, then we can say we're the better team." :angel
As they do after every game, the Sonics gathered at midcourt and Allen did most of the talking.
"I said we just made it tougher on ourselves," he said. "We've got to win in this building. In a Game 7, we have to win in this building. There's no way getting by it.
"I guarantee you every team that's won a championship, they had a tough Game 7 in somebody's building. ... That's what champions can say. They fought the hard fight." (Not true)
Seattle vs. San Antonio
1 San Antonio 103, Seattle 81
2 San Antonio 108, Seattle 91
3 Seattle 92, San Antonio 91
4 Seattle 101, San Antonio 89
5 San Antonio 103, Seattle 90
6 Tomorrow at Seattle 7:30 p.m. (ESPN, FSN)
7* Sunday at San Antonio TBA
*If necessary
Seattle Times staff reporter
Seattle’s Ray Allen is hit beneath the basket by Brent Barry (17) and Tim Duncan. The Spurs slowed the Sonics’ top scorer early and late, holding him to 19 points.
SAN ANTONIO — The opening onslaught didn't subdue the Sonics, who withstood an early San Antonio flurry and tied the score at halftime.
The second onrush, however, was too much for Seattle to overcome as the Spurs stormed out of intermission and sealed last night's 103-90 victory at the SBC Center with a third-quarter spurt that gave them a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.
If the Sonics are to avoid elimination, then they'll have to push their perfect playoff home record to six straight games tomorrow at KeyArena.
Perhaps by then Rashard Lewis will return to the court. The All-Star forward missed his second straight game last night because of a sprained left big toe suffered in Game 3 on Thursday.
The Sonics also are missing reserve forward Vladimir Radmanovic, their third-leading scorer from the regular season, who suffered a series-ending right ankle sprain in the opener.
"Every game is a must-win now," Daniels said. "We can't afford to lose a game, obviously. So this Game 6, it will test our heart. It will test our character and it will test our camaraderie, but this is what the playoffs are all about."
The Spurs solved several riddles that had been puzzling them until last night. They changed their defense on the pick-and-rolls and double-teamed Ray Allen early, which disrupted his offense.
For the first time in the series, they were able to get someone not named Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker to have a big night. And to the detriment of the Sonics, center Nazr Mohammed, like Ginobili (39 points), finished with a career-best playoff performance (19).
And finally, they won a Game 5 after losing the previous two in consecutive years.
"We were on a bit of a slide, losing Game 3 at the end and then getting beat pretty bad in Game 4," Spurs forward Bruce Bowen said. "We came in with an understanding that this is no slouch team and we had to be ready."
Seattle's Antonio Daniels is sent flying by San Antonio's Robert Horry, who was called for a foul on the play in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, the Sonics once again weren't ready for the tempest they faced at SBC Center. In three games here, they've held the lead for less than a minute and never had an advantage last night.
Still, after being outscored 25-18 in the first quarter and falling behind by nine (27-18) early in the second, Seattle scored 32 points in the second quarter and tied the score 50-50 at halftime.
"I think they were probably a little nervous in their locker room because of that," Allen said. "I thought we never built rhythm offensively to keep the game going. We only had 12 assists, and that's not going to get the job done."
Seattle's decimated lineup forced coach Nate McMillan to rely upon a three-guard unit for a second straight game, with Daniels starting and Allen taking the bulk of the shots.
Unlike Sunday's improbable victory in Game 4, the Sonics' defense, particularly their assignments on Ginobili, was maligned.
"Too many times they got into the paint, and [Ginobili] got to the free-throw line 17 times," McMillan said. "So when he wasn't scoring, he was getting to the free-throw line. A couple of times, we kept him out and then he knocked down a three."
The whirling-dervish All-Star guard returned to the starting lineup after an eight-game experiment in which Brent Barry started.
Ginobili scored 14 of his career-playoff-high 39 points in the decisive third quarter, when San Antonio outscored Seattle 28-18 and led by as many as 16 (74-58) with 5:29 remaining.
Ginobili was relentless, scoring 15 points at the free-throw line and proving extremely accurate from long distance, converting four three-pointers. He also had six assists and four rebounds.
"Inside and outside, he had us running around and he hit some big shots," reserve Sonics forward Damien Wilkins said. "We did a good job on everybody else, but Manu, he just did us tonight."
Because Ginobili was so good and Mohammed finished with a surprising 19 points that equaled his output in the first four games, the Spurs could afford a typical effort from Duncan, who had 20 points and 14 rebounds. They didn't get much from Parker, who missed nine of 13 shots and finished with 11 points.
The Sonics, however, had very little room for error without Lewis and Radmanovic.
They needed to force more than nine turnovers — on Sunday they forced 23 — and they needed to convert more than 3 of 13 three-pointers.
Seattle needed another 32-point performance out of Allen, and all he could muster was 19 of the quietest points you've ever seen. He didn't score his first point until 11:11 in the second quarter and had just one point in the third.
Daniels filled in admirably and tallied 17, and Nick Collison had 14 off the bench. Luke Ridnour finished with 12 points and six assists, and center Jerome James chipped in 10 points.
"They beat us tonight, but we're not going to sit back and say that they are a better team because they beat us tonight," Allen said. "We win up there and then we come back down here and win, then we can say we're the better team." :angel
As they do after every game, the Sonics gathered at midcourt and Allen did most of the talking.
"I said we just made it tougher on ourselves," he said. "We've got to win in this building. In a Game 7, we have to win in this building. There's no way getting by it.
"I guarantee you every team that's won a championship, they had a tough Game 7 in somebody's building. ... That's what champions can say. They fought the hard fight." (Not true)
Seattle vs. San Antonio
1 San Antonio 103, Seattle 81
2 San Antonio 108, Seattle 91
3 Seattle 92, San Antonio 91
4 Seattle 101, San Antonio 89
5 San Antonio 103, Seattle 90
6 Tomorrow at Seattle 7:30 p.m. (ESPN, FSN)
7* Sunday at San Antonio TBA
*If necessary