SEATTLE – The way things are going in the month of December, you have to wonder if the Seattle SuperSonics have been more naughty than nice the last two years.
In 2002, Seattle lost four straight games in the days before Christmas by a combined seven points. It was the turning point in a season that went suddenly sour, leading to the team’s first losing record in 16 years.
Now, eerily, history is repeating. On Tuesday night the Sonics lost in overtime at Phoenix, 92-91, and they followed that heartbreaker with a 99-98 setback to the visiting Denver Nuggets Wednesday night at KeyArena. The latter game was decided by short, running shot from Denver rookie sensation Carmelo Anthony that bounced on the left rim, then on the right rim, then hung for a long second before falling through the net with six seconds to play.
Without any timeouts, Seattle’s Antonio Daniels took the inbounds pass and hurried up the court. With teammates fanning to the wings, Daniels thought he saw a seam down the lane, but his last shot was swatted away by Nuggets center Marcus Camby as the final horn sounded.
As the Nuggets celebrated their win like giddy school children, the Sonics headed off to their locker room to contemplate the grim resemblance to a year ago.
“It’s deja vu,” sighed Seattle coach Nate McMillan. “To be in the month of December and lose two games the way we did the last two nights, and then to think about last season. Yeah, that thought crossed my mind.”
“It feels all too familiar,” added guard Brent Barry.
Unlike Tuesday’s game, which was a stinker they probably deserved to lose, the Sonics competed well against the much-improved Nuggets. That is, save for a sluggish first quarter that was likely due to an OT contest in Phoenix the night before. Down 10 points after one period, Seattle was within seven at halftime, then tied the score early in the third quarter. From there it was a back-and-forth affair with nine ties and six lead changes in the last 20 minutes.
Trailing by two points with 14 seconds, but with possession, the Sonics took a timeout and set up a play for Lewis on the left wing. He curled to the baseline and rose for a running 10-footer that swished neatly, and he was fouled by Denver’s Nene (a Brazilian formerly known as Nene Hilario, he now uses just one name). A successful free throw put Seattle up 98-97.
After their own timeout, the Nuggets countered by getting the ball to the 19-year-old Anthony, a soon-to-be superstar. Guarded by Ansu Sesay, perhaps Seattle’s best on-the-ball defender among its forwards and centers, Anthony drove the right side of the lane and got up near the basket. With Sonics center Calvin Booth converging, Anthony released a short running shot that bounced, bounced and hung before falling in.
In a 48-minute game, Barry said, “you play 47 minutes and 50 seconds, and then one roll decides your fate. But you have to hand it to Carmelo. He made a heck of a move, the ball rolled in for him and Denver snuck out of here with a win.”
“What can you do about it?” Daniels said. “A tough player hit a tough shot.”
At the other end, and with the clock ticking down, “we just had to try to get a shot up,” Daniels went on. “I pushed it and tried to make something happen, but Camby was there. That’s just the way it works.”
Though he was not in Seattle for last season’s December swoon, Daniels has experienced similar luckless stints in his NBA career.
“You go through stretches during the season,” he said, “where everything seems to go your way. And then on the flip side of that, you go through stretches of a season where it seems like every bounce, every call goes against you. Right now, we’re in one of those (latter) stretches. So what we need to do is stay together and we’ll pull through it together.”
Ahead for Seattle is a Friday night home game with San Antonio, followed by a trip to Denver and a Saturday rematch with the Nuggets. The Sonics then host Phoenix on Tuesday before a three-day Christmas respite.
Seattle’s Reggie Evans played just two minutes of the first half before leaving with a bruised left knee. He did not return and will be evaluated again today.
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