MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Ray Allen, feeling the warmth of Seattle fans as he leaves the court after the Sonics' 101-89 victory in Game 4, says a hostile environment tonight in San Antonio is an obstacle that can be overcome. "As far as what happens on this court," Allen says, "we control that."
SAN ANTONIO — There's a scene in the film "Hoosiers" when Gene Hackman, who plays the basketball coach of the tiny Indiana high-school boys team, has one of his players measure the distance between the rim and the floor before their state-championship game inside a cavernous arena.
The small-town boys team was accustomed to more intimate surroundings and had never played in a setting that was so awe-inspiring.
It's a poignant moment in the movie, and cinematic proof that basketball is basketball no matter where it's played.
Sitting courtside inside an empty SBC Center after yesterday's workout, Ray Allen, the Sonics' resident thespian and film buff, waxed philosophically about the seemingly impossible task facing his team.
It had been less than 24 hours since he guided them to an improbable 101-89 Game 4 thrashing of the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals without two of Seattle's top three scorers.
Chances are good that All-Star forward Rashard Lewis, who sprained his left big toe last Thursday, won't play again tonight in Game 5, which will force Allen to once again provide the heavy lifting in terms of leadership and point production.
Beating the Spurs in Seattle — like the Sonics did in Games 3 and 4 — is one thing, but beating them on their home court where they've lost just four games all season, and just once in the playoffs, is quite another.
Still, Allen is undeterred, and as he is apt to do at times such as these, he tends to answer questions with questions before expressing his point.
"You tell me: What's changed?" he said. "The ball doesn't change, the basket is still the same, the free-throw line is still the same, and so is the three-point line. So what's changed? Really. What's changed?
"Yeah, it's a different building and their fans will give them energy just like our fans give us energy. But as far as what happens on this court, we control that. And we've got to remember that. Basketball is basketball no matter where you play it. The game doesn't change."
Still, in so many ways, the Sonics are not the same team that arrived in San Antonio more than a week ago for the start of the series. They were a confident bunch then, having recently disposed of Sacramento in the first round but having no idea what was awaiting them.
As the nightmarish Game 1 concluded, they literally limped away as reserve forward Vladimir Radmanovic suffered a series-ending right ankle sprain and Allen, too, rolled his right ankle during a devastating 103-81 defeat.
"We were shocked in Game 1," said reserve guard Antonio Daniels, who started in place of Lewis on Sunday and may do so again tonight. "They jumped on us early and caught us by surprise. It's similar to Sacramento.
"We went to Sacramento that first game and they got us and we was kind of like, 'Wow, that place was crazy.' Then the next game came around and we were a little more calm and we know what to expect, so we should be OK now."
To borrow a boxing analogy, the Sonics have picked themselves up off the canvas after staggering blows in the first couple of rounds.
They tied the series at 2-2 and believe they've discovered a winning formula with their potent three-guard lineup that stymied San Antonio in Game 4. Seattle shot 50 percent from the field, which is a 2005 playoff high for a Spurs opponent.
"The last two games we played the same style of basketball that we did earlier in the season when we beat these guys two times," center Jerome James said. "That's where they had their problems. They had problems playing that free, open-court style of basketball with defense behind it.
"Not only do we play a style similar to the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns, but we play better defense than both of those teams. So that's a great combination. When we have that rolling, we're a tough team to beat."
A few keys for the Sonics:
• Getting off to a fast start. The first two games of the series were decided in the opening minutes. San Antonio led 35-22 in Game 1 and 28-16 in Game 2.
"They are very aggressive and they seem to play faster at home than they do on the road," coach Nate McMillan said. "Most teams, that happens when you play at home. The energy, the building, you can ride that some. They were very aggressive right from the start."
• Avoiding turnovers. Seattle's undoing in Game 2 was 17 turnovers, which led to 22 San Antonio points. In both home games, the Sonics had fewer turnovers.
"It's impossible to play a game with no mistakes, but we have to cut down on our mistakes because a team like this will make you pay for it," Daniels said. "You still want to be aggressive, but you've got to be smart with the basketball."
• Controlling Tony Parker. As he goes, so does the Spurs. He averaged 25.2 points in San Antonio's wins and just 15 in the defeats.
Are the Sonics really comparing themselves to the Hoosiers?
Uh, NOTHING really fits that. The Sonics are a professional NBA team with superstars like the Spurs.
Game 5 will be a much tougher game than 1 and 2, simply because they have confidence now. I don't think the Spurs will be able to "put them away early." This is going to be a long game with many lead changes, and it'll be up to the Spurs to stay consistent on defense and win this thing.
Oh, and hitting some shots won't hurt either....
Steve Kelley
Seattle Times staff columnist
Back in October, when the Sonics were losing exhibition games and the national magazines were picking them for the bottom of the Western Conference, the coaching staff was fretting about the team's lack of toughness.
Where were the enforcers? Where was the edginess? Where was the next generation of Frank Brickowskis, Vincent Askews and Nate McMillans?
And, when they lost to the Clippers by 30 on opening night in Los Angeles, the question appeared to have no answer. The season looked as long and troubled as a prison sentence. It was going to be an epic march to nowhere.
But look at them now. Check out the toughness. This is a team as tough as 12 McMillans.
Seven months after the November massacre at the Staples Center they are beating up on the perennially nasty San Antonio Spurs. Creating turnovers from a team that takes care of the ball as if it were a family member.
Look at them now, driving to the basket without fear. Slaloming through the heart of the San Antonio defense with disdain.
Look at these same Sonics, tied 2-2 in the semifinals of the Western Conference semifinals.
Point guard Luke Ridnour is playing like Steve Nash. Playing the same way he did at Oregon and Blaine High, when he controlled a game like a maestro.
His sidekick and mentor, Antonio Daniels, who through the season emerged as a leader, is driving the ball at San Antonio's heart. He's hitting buzzer-beating jumpers. He's playing point guard, two guard, small forward.
One, two, three, it doesn't matter. Daniels is Askew tough. And the free-agent-to-be must be re-signed if the Sonics are to build on the dramatic momentum they've created this season.
Nick Collison is blocking shots and wrestling rebounds away from suddenly-benign Bruce Bowen.
It's as if this team grew up in one night in November. As if the Sonics had the sense knocked into them by the Clippers on Nov. 3 and got mad as and decided not to take it anymore.
After watching Ray Allen, playing on a sprained ankle and scoring 32 points Sunday, there is no denying his grit and his worth to this team — this season and for many seasons to come — is growing with every game.
Allen has become the avuncular presence on this team. He is the senior adviser with the quick-trigger jumper. He is the leader-by-example, on and off the floor. This season is his real-life sequel to "He Got Game."
The Sonics have undergone a change as fast and dramatic as any in sports.
They've discovered things about themselves. Whether it's Jerome James suddenly understanding there's more to the game than ac ulating custom cars and playing just well enough to stay around.
Or rebounder Reggie Evans understanding that life as a role player can be lucrative and rewarding.
Or Vitaly Potapenko knowing that despite all the DNPs this season there would be a game like Game 3 when he would be needed down the stretch to stop Duncan a couple of times and save the game.
The Sonics have stayed alive with sixth man Vlade Radmanovic out with a sprained right ankle. They won Sunday with All-Star Rashard Lewis unable to play because of a sore big toe. They're playing hurt and playing well.
They won because McMillan and his staff kept everybody ready for moments like these when players from the end of the bench were expected to be ready to play as if they'd been contributors from the get-go.
McMillan called on undrafted rookie Damien Wilkins on Sunday and got 15 points, six rebounds and five steals in 32 remarkable minutes. Wilkins is another symbol of the Sonics' selflessness.
"It seems like Damien's been better at every venue," Sonics general manager Rick Sund said. "He was better at Georgia than he was at North Carolina State. He was better at the Chicago pre-draft camp than he was at Georgia. He was better at our summer-league camp than he was in Chicago.
"We kept him at the beginning of the year because people were hurt. We wanted a defensive, lively guy and we kept him as an insurance policy. One great thing about this guy, a lot of guys who are on the injured list or are the 12th, 13th guys on the team, they're not always attentive. But he is big-time attentive."
This is a team that pays attention. To its coaches on the bench and its leaders on the floor.
These Sonics have done more than anybody — including their coaching staff, their owner, general manager and most passionate fans — thought possible.
They have tied this series with the Spurs at 2-2. They've showed us what hard work can overcome.
These Sonics are as tough as their most hardscrabble predecessors. Tough as Brick and Askew and their own coach.
And, more important, tough as the San Antonio Spurs. Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or [email protected]
Damn, these columnists sure are confident after ONE good game by the Sonics.
I just hope the Spurs feed off that loss, and come out tough and ready to meet hard fouls with hard fouls. Basket for basket. Blood for blood.
This series has just started...
You know if the tables were turned, we would be just as confident, yes?
Not really. If my team had been blown out twice in a row, came back and won a close game that any fan would feel lucky having won, and finally putting up one good game 4, I wouldn't be feeling confident.
Hopeful, sure, but down in the pit of my stomach I'd know the opponent was the better team.
But then again, I'm not getting paid to stroke egos.
I'm not just saying that "the Spurs will win" because I'm a homer. I honestly believe we are the better team, and the better team wins 7 game series.
1993:
Spurs lose 2 at Phoenix, win 2 at home...we Spurs fans are riding high, full of confidence.....Barkley closes the Hemisfair arena with a buzzer beater to win the series in game 6.
Spurs need to crush these fools!
They'll win by at least 20. Even the line has moved up a point since it opened (now at Spurs -11), which tells me handicappers aren't buying the Seattle confidence claim.
Either that, or they realize how motivated the Spurs will be for this game!
Yeah, no doubt. Actually, I think the line opened at spurs -9.5. I think they'll win something like 105-83.
Makes my case, doesn't it?
I'm not saying Sonics fans should hang their heads. But they should be realistic. The Sonics have not really done anything yet. You have to win one on the road before you get too excited.
By the same token, I think Spurs fans were overconfident going to Seattle. With all the talk of the Sonics being worse than the Nuggets, we believed it.
But the Sonics are proving to be a greater challenge than the Nugs, which is a good thing. Now, when we beat the Sonics, we'll be more prepared to deal with the Mavs or Suns!
3 Words............
Bring Em On
No, that makes my case. We and all the press were all jumping for joy, all thinking grand thoughts, thinking that the Spurs were back and would beat the favored Suns.
It is human nature to be positive...well, unless you are Walton, Sequ or Nikos.
No, that makes my case. We and all the press were all jumping for joy, all thinking grand thoughts, thinking that the Spurs were back and would beat the favored Suns.
It is human nature to be positive...well, unless you are Walton, Sequ or Nikos.
Fair enough!
(I just hope I'm not being naive in thinking the Spurs will win tonight...)
We need to start well and gain some momentum early on. The Sonics are hot right now, so we can't afford to start out sluggishly. Now, weather Lewis will play or not, it doesn't really matter. We saw that guys like Wilkins and Ridnour can fill up for his play. And please Tony and Beno, don't make Ridnour a star again. He's got skills, but not like Nash so don't let him play like Nash.
I'm also hoping that Pop will play Glenn some more minutes. When Bowen isn't doing anything offensivly we need someone to do so.
Here's an interesting stat ...
Spurs are 4-0 ATS at the crib this year coming off back to back losses. In all four of those games, they were favored by an average of 11 points and won by a margin of 18.25 points.
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