SEATTLE – There was ragged ball-handling, wayward shooting and, at times heaving chests.
In other words, Saturday’s game at KeyArena was the NBA preseason at its less-than-finest.
The exception was Seattle SuperSonics guard Ray Allen, who showed he is poised for another All-Star season with an outstanding showing against the Phoenix Suns. Though it came in a losing effort, Allen was brilliant in limited duty, scoring 29 points in just 30 minutes of a 99-93 loss.
Allen, who is starting his eighth pro season, finished 9-for-14 from the field with three 3-pointers and eight free throws. He was particularly effective in the first quarter, burying 19 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field, including 3-for-4 from the 3-point stripe, to go with four free throws.
Though it was a meaningless preseason game, Allen said his approach was the same he utilizes in the regular season. ”My face has to show these guys and the coaches that it’s time to play,” he said.
Ironically, Allen was not on the court when Seattle made a spirited fourth-quarter comeback, turning what had been a one-sided Phoenix margin into a down-to-the-wire affair. Trailing 91-75 with under six minutes to play, the Sonics got four straight 3-pointers from forward Vlade Radmanovic to ignite a comeback that brought an announced crowd of 10,838 (the actual number in house was perhaps half of that) to life.
Seattle drew within 95-93 with 28 seconds remaining on a driving dunk by Antonio Daniels, but the Suns got a layin and two free throws from Howard Eisley in the final moments to preserve the win.
Afterward, Sonics coach Nate McMillan lamented his team’s often sloppy ball-handling. Seattle ended up with 24 turnovers, including 15 in the first half, ”and you won’t win games with 24 turnovers,” he said.
Why did Allen not play in the fourth quarter?
”It’s the preseason,” McMillan said. ”It’s an opportunity to learn. We want to win the game, but we also want to learn. And I know what Ray can do.”
Despite the loss, there were obvious highlights. Seattle fans got their first homecourt look at forward Nick Collison, the team’s 2003 first-round draft pick who missed all of last season after separate surgeries on both shoulders. Collison was tentative early, but much better in the second half. He finished with 15 points (7-for-9 from the field) and eight rebounds, but also had five turnovers.
Of his first-half struggles, ”maybe I was thinking too much,” Collison admitted. ”But I felt a lot better in the second half. I just kind of relaxed and played, and hopefully that’s the way it’ll be from now on.”
Another player making his KeyArena debut was 2004 first-round draft pick Robert Swift, the 18-year-old center from Bakersfield, Calif. Swift had a stint in the third period and looked like a nervous teen-ager, shooting an air ball from the right baseline on his first field goal try and getting a dunk attempt blocked on his second.
Returning in the fourth quarter, though, the 7-footer looked like a different player. He scored midway through the period with a nifty 8-foot jump hook from left of the key, then went up and under against Phoenix center Maciej Lampe for a powerful dunk.
If Collison and Swift were a little tight, ”it’s to be expected,” McMillan said. ”It’s your first home game in front of your home crowd. … Robert shot an air ball the first time, but came back with a nice solid move.”
Seattle was without injured forward Rashard Lewis (plantar fasciitis, left foot) and guard Flip Murray (strained quadriceps muscle). Both were in street clothes by the Sonics bench. The Suns, meanwhile, did not have guard Steve Nash, acquired as an offseason free agent from Dallas. He stayed back in Phoenix to be with his girlfriend, who recently gave birth to the couple’s twins.
Also sitting out was Suns guard Yuta Tabuse, who is trying to become the first player in Japan to make an NBA roster. He was sidelined with a thigh contusion, disappointing a contingent of Japanese media and perhaps two dozen Japanese fans who gathered near the team bench to snap photographs of the 5-foot-9 rookie from BYU-Hawaii.
PHOENIX (99)
Marion 5-11 7-7 20, Stoudemire 8-13 5-11 21, Voskuhl 2-4 1-4 5, Barbosa 0-4 0-0 0, Johnson 6-12 0-0 12, Richardson 8-14 2-3 21, Lampe 1-2 2-2 4, Jacobsen 1-3 5-5 7, Hunter 1-1 1-2 3, Eisley 1-6 2-2 4, Cabarkapa 0-3 0-0 0, Shirley 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 34-74 25-36 99.
SEATTLE (93)
Collison 7-9 1-2 15, Radmanovic 5-12 2-4 16, James 0-1 2-4 2, Allen 9-14 8-8 29, Ridnour 3-8 0-0 6, Potapenko 2-3 1-2 5, Kutluay 3-8 0-0 7, Daniels 1-5 1-2 3, Fortson 0-3 0-0 0, G.Young 0-1 0-0 0, Wilkens 2-5 2-2 6, Swift 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 34-73 17-24 93.
Phoenix22262625-99
Seattle26182029-93
3-Point Goals-Phoenix 6-16 (Marion 3-4, Richardson 3-5, Jacobsen 0-1, Barbosa 0-3, Eisley 0-3), Seattle 8-21 (Radmanovic 4-7, Allen 3-7, Kutluay 1-4, Daniels 0-1, Ridnour 0-2). Fouled out-Barbosa. Rebounds-Phoenix 43 (Stoudemire 9), Seattle 54 (Radmanovic 9). Assists-Phoenix 20 (Johnson 5), Seattle 19 (Ridnour 6). Total fouls-Phoenix 24, Seattle 28. Technicals-Seattle Defensive Three Second, Fortson. A-10,838 (17,072).
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