Re: Second Coming: A SuperSonics Return
Sonics Win Thriller
January 17th, 2016
By Vonny Lee
If you weren't at this game, you need to tell everyone that you know that you were; lie as often as you need to, lie to your own children, but never admit you weren't there because you should have been. This game was an instant classic and, for the reborn SuperSonics, becomes the game where they put the league on notice.
Yes, one can make the case that Seattle did nearly two weeks before against the Thunder, but Seattle followed up that win with two straight losses to the Lakers and Blazers, both by double-digits. Heading into this game, the Sonics were 27-15, coming off three straight wins ... to under .500 squads.
Seattle, like any above-average team, can beat those teams on a consistent basis most nights. But the Heat -- and many of the elite teams in the East -- have been a puzzle Seattle has failed to solve more often than any Sonics fan would like to be reminded of. 20-point blowouts usually follow when Seattle meets an elite squad from the East; that's what the Heat handed Seattle back in December.
This game could have been very similar, but it didn't get there despite the Heat having ample opportunity to scorch the Sonics similarly.
The first quarter was largely a back and forth affair until Seattle got its legs under it; then the Sonics opened up a 10-point lead which was trimmed down to six before the quarter ended. The second quarter looked to be the beginnings of a blowout as Seattle opened up a 12-point lead.
Then Miami threw in their super-sub, Gerald Green -- the ringleader of the bench unit that destroyed Seattle the last time these two teams met. Green immediately went to work and Seattle, much like last time, struggled to contain him. The pace was pushed up and the Sonics got pushed around, surrendering the majority of their lead before halftime: they only led by one at the break.
The mood in the arena was somber as everyone knew what was going to happen next. Seattle had struggled all season-long coming out of halftime, often times losing the game in the third quarter despite stellar performances in the fourth; whether a mental, physical, or personnel issue, Seattle simply came out cold most third quarters.
The script was followed to the letter this game, same as any other game; Seattle came out of the half shooting bricks and with metal lapses plentiful. Gerald Green again led the way for the Heat and Miami finally managed to get Bosh and Dragic going. Seattle couldn't buy a triple to save its life in the third and I could hear the Heat fan behind me laugh at the team's futility.
"Allen is washed up," said the fan. "It's why we let him go and why no one else wanted him! I've seen grandmas with fresher legs!"
The Heat took a four-point lead into the fourth, their biggest stars beginning to warm up and the Sonics ready to succumb; the knock-out blow was coming, the arena sensed it.
The fourth started off much like the third ended; badly. Jarrett Jack airballed an open jumper, then allowed a layup on the other end. Things were beginning to get out of hand.
And then, like he has so often in his career, Ray Allen reminded the Heat what he could do. After a Sonics steal, Allen hit a wide-open transition triple (catching Wade napping), closing the lead to only three with less than 10 minutes to go.
The Heat responded with a fast layup from Wade, who missed -- in transition, the Sonics worked the ball from Jefferson to Jack, who hit the running layup and closed the gap to one-point. A Justice Winslow miss later, the Sonics again ran the floor and found the open man, this time Gortat with a running layup.
The Heat and Sonics would trade baskets and blows for the next five minutes before the Heat finally began to pull away after Bosh and Green got rolling again; with 3:20 left, after a clear frustration foul by Jack (who had five fouls -- more than the the rest of his teammates combined), Deng hit two free throws that increased the lead to eight, essentially icing the game.
"It's over! O-V-E-R!" exclaimed the Heat fan behind me.
The crowd was silent. Quiet. Preparing for another "moral victory" but having to live with the loss. It was an expected result, especially where the Heat are concerned, but everyone knew it was done.
The Sonics players didn't, apparently.
With less than 3:20 to go, the Sonics pushed the ball up the floor, and ran a quick play for Ray Allen. And Ray, as he has done so many times, came off the pick, got the ball up ... and hit the front rim. The ball went up, then came back down, going right through the net.
A bounce-in triple.
The crowd at The PAC didn't go into a frenzy, they were stunned. The Heat lead was cut to five and half the players on the floor stared at the hoop for an extra second. The next minute and a half was filled with more buckets from both teams and, at 1:31, the Sonics had cut the lead to just three.
But Chris Bosh wasn't about to let the Heat lead grow any smaller. After a throw in, the big man hit a fading post shot to extend the lead back to five points.
Jack answered back with a dish to Carl Landry, who had been inserted into the game in the latter stages of the fourth to help contain Bosh; Landry hit the running layup, then got the steal on the Heat's next possession, allowing the Sonics to get into transition.
The ball found its way to Jefferson, who took it to the rack, then slammed it home, closing the gap to just one point with 1:01 left to go in the game.
Dragic brought the ball up the floor after, then found Bosh in the low post, who took it to the rack and got the friendly roll; the Heat regained the lead, 110-109, with 25.3 seconds to go. The crowd was in a frenzy still, the Sonics with a chance to win the game and with possession.
Jack brought the ball up the court calmly, trying to set up a pick, but found little success early in the shot clock; Dragic kept dodging and time was winding down.
With less than five seconds on the clock, Jack called a pick right at the top of the key; Dragic was floored by it, freeing up Gortat for a roll to the rim -- a bounce pass to the Polish Hammer let him dunk it all over Chris Bosh.
With 3.6 seconds to go, Gortat had scored and given the Sonics the lead. Miami called a timeout and advanced the ball to the other side of the court, but there was no room for any play: the Sonics locked them down, forcing Dragic to take a long, semi-contested triple from behind the arc that bounced high and away off the rim, giving the Sonics the win.
It was the first thriller in the Sonics new home, the first of what will be many such games in The PAC. Seattle gets the win in a regular season classic.
(Highlights to come in the morning. It was an amazing game.)
Sonics Win Thriller
January 17th, 2016
By Vonny Lee
If you weren't at this game, you need to tell everyone that you know that you were; lie as often as you need to, lie to your own children, but never admit you weren't there because you should have been. This game was an instant classic and, for the reborn SuperSonics, becomes the game where they put the league on notice.
Yes, one can make the case that Seattle did nearly two weeks before against the Thunder, but Seattle followed up that win with two straight losses to the Lakers and Blazers, both by double-digits. Heading into this game, the Sonics were 27-15, coming off three straight wins ... to under .500 squads.
Seattle, like any above-average team, can beat those teams on a consistent basis most nights. But the Heat -- and many of the elite teams in the East -- have been a puzzle Seattle has failed to solve more often than any Sonics fan would like to be reminded of. 20-point blowouts usually follow when Seattle meets an elite squad from the East; that's what the Heat handed Seattle back in December.
This game could have been very similar, but it didn't get there despite the Heat having ample opportunity to scorch the Sonics similarly.
The first quarter was largely a back and forth affair until Seattle got its legs under it; then the Sonics opened up a 10-point lead which was trimmed down to six before the quarter ended. The second quarter looked to be the beginnings of a blowout as Seattle opened up a 12-point lead.
Then Miami threw in their super-sub, Gerald Green -- the ringleader of the bench unit that destroyed Seattle the last time these two teams met. Green immediately went to work and Seattle, much like last time, struggled to contain him. The pace was pushed up and the Sonics got pushed around, surrendering the majority of their lead before halftime: they only led by one at the break.
The mood in the arena was somber as everyone knew what was going to happen next. Seattle had struggled all season-long coming out of halftime, often times losing the game in the third quarter despite stellar performances in the fourth; whether a mental, physical, or personnel issue, Seattle simply came out cold most third quarters.
The script was followed to the letter this game, same as any other game; Seattle came out of the half shooting bricks and with metal lapses plentiful. Gerald Green again led the way for the Heat and Miami finally managed to get Bosh and Dragic going. Seattle couldn't buy a triple to save its life in the third and I could hear the Heat fan behind me laugh at the team's futility.
"Allen is washed up," said the fan. "It's why we let him go and why no one else wanted him! I've seen grandmas with fresher legs!"
The Heat took a four-point lead into the fourth, their biggest stars beginning to warm up and the Sonics ready to succumb; the knock-out blow was coming, the arena sensed it.
The fourth started off much like the third ended; badly. Jarrett Jack airballed an open jumper, then allowed a layup on the other end. Things were beginning to get out of hand.
And then, like he has so often in his career, Ray Allen reminded the Heat what he could do. After a Sonics steal, Allen hit a wide-open transition triple (catching Wade napping), closing the lead to only three with less than 10 minutes to go.
The Heat responded with a fast layup from Wade, who missed -- in transition, the Sonics worked the ball from Jefferson to Jack, who hit the running layup and closed the gap to one-point. A Justice Winslow miss later, the Sonics again ran the floor and found the open man, this time Gortat with a running layup.
The Heat and Sonics would trade baskets and blows for the next five minutes before the Heat finally began to pull away after Bosh and Green got rolling again; with 3:20 left, after a clear frustration foul by Jack (who had five fouls -- more than the the rest of his teammates combined), Deng hit two free throws that increased the lead to eight, essentially icing the game.
"It's over! O-V-E-R!" exclaimed the Heat fan behind me.
The crowd was silent. Quiet. Preparing for another "moral victory" but having to live with the loss. It was an expected result, especially where the Heat are concerned, but everyone knew it was done.
The Sonics players didn't, apparently.
With less than 3:20 to go, the Sonics pushed the ball up the floor, and ran a quick play for Ray Allen. And Ray, as he has done so many times, came off the pick, got the ball up ... and hit the front rim. The ball went up, then came back down, going right through the net.
A bounce-in triple.
The crowd at The PAC didn't go into a frenzy, they were stunned. The Heat lead was cut to five and half the players on the floor stared at the hoop for an extra second. The next minute and a half was filled with more buckets from both teams and, at 1:31, the Sonics had cut the lead to just three.
But Chris Bosh wasn't about to let the Heat lead grow any smaller. After a throw in, the big man hit a fading post shot to extend the lead back to five points.
Jack answered back with a dish to Carl Landry, who had been inserted into the game in the latter stages of the fourth to help contain Bosh; Landry hit the running layup, then got the steal on the Heat's next possession, allowing the Sonics to get into transition.
The ball found its way to Jefferson, who took it to the rack, then slammed it home, closing the gap to just one point with 1:01 left to go in the game.
Dragic brought the ball up the floor after, then found Bosh in the low post, who took it to the rack and got the friendly roll; the Heat regained the lead, 110-109, with 25.3 seconds to go. The crowd was in a frenzy still, the Sonics with a chance to win the game and with possession.
Jack brought the ball up the court calmly, trying to set up a pick, but found little success early in the shot clock; Dragic kept dodging and time was winding down.
With less than five seconds on the clock, Jack called a pick right at the top of the key; Dragic was floored by it, freeing up Gortat for a roll to the rim -- a bounce pass to the Polish Hammer let him dunk it all over Chris Bosh.
With 3.6 seconds to go, Gortat had scored and given the Sonics the lead. Miami called a timeout and advanced the ball to the other side of the court, but there was no room for any play: the Sonics locked them down, forcing Dragic to take a long, semi-contested triple from behind the arc that bounced high and away off the rim, giving the Sonics the win.
It was the first thriller in the Sonics new home, the first of what will be many such games in The PAC. Seattle gets the win in a regular season classic.
(Highlights to come in the morning. It was an amazing game.)
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