SEATTLE – Three times in the last minute the Seattle SuperSonics had good looks at the basket. Three times their shot seemed headed straight for the basket.
Alas, three times the back nicked the rim and bounced away. And in a game of inches Saturday night, those misses were enough to cost the Sonics dearly in a 110-103 loss to the Sacramento Kings. Though the final margin was seven points, Sacramento led by just one with 11 seconds to play.
It was Seattle’s first KeyArena loss to a Pacific Division opponent this season after seven straight victories. It was also the third loss in a row for the Sonics after a stretch when they had won three out of four.
“We’re playing hard, and sooner or later the breaks are going to start going our way,” said guard Antonio Daniels in a disappointed Sonics locker room. “We’re playing well enough to win basketball games, but down the stretch we’re just not getting that bounce or that roll we need. Eventually some of these bounces are going to go our way.”
“We were right there,” added Seattle coach Nate McMillan. “If we make some plays in the fourth quarter – makes some stops and get some baskets – we win the game. But now we just have to continue to work and continue to get better.”
Trailing 104-103 with 54 seconds remaining, Ray Allen had a 3-point attempt from the left wing. Allen, Seattle’s top scorer left the ball just short, but Daniels snagged the offensive rebound. That set up a try by Vitaly Potapenko with 28 seconds left, but his running hook from the lane caught the inside of the rim and bounced out.
Seattle’s Rashard Lewis fouled out with 11 seconds to play, sending Sacramento’s Peja Stojakovic to the line for two chances, which he converted. Now trailing by three, the Sonics worked an inbounds play to Allen in the corner, and his game-tying attempt looked to be dead center, but instead clipped the rim.
“I thought it was going in,” Allen sighed. “It seemed like I just had a small glimpse at the basket, but that’s all I needed. But it just wouldn’t go in for me. And that was the story of the night for me. It seemed like every shot I took was in there, and then just came right back out.”
“If he can see the rim, it’s a pretty good look,” McMillan said. “He had a better look than I thought he would. The play worked, he was open, he had a pretty good look at it and it rolled out.”
The loss came despite a career-best scoring night by Daniels, who scorched the Kings for 30 points. He was 9-for-15 from the field, including 3-for-4 from the 3-point stripe, and he converted all nine of his tries from the free throw line. Daniels’ previous career high was 26 points, which he achieved with San Antonio on Dec. 26, 2000, in a game against Houston.
In addition, Daniels had a season-high 11 assists, which was just one away from his career high, and seven rebounds.
“He played well,” McMillan said. “I wanted him to be more aggressive – not necessarily scoring, but creating for himself and the team – and he was more aggressive with the ball. We’re going to need him to play that way because teams are just not allowing Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to play with the ball. We’re going to need some other guys to create opportunities for the team, and he did a very good job tonight.”
“It’s never enough if you don’t get the win,” Daniels said, dismissing praise for his performance.
That Seattle even had a chance to win the game seemed very unlikely early on. The Sonics were dismal in the first quarter, committing 10 turnovers and allowing Sacramento to build a nine-point lead at the end of the period despite shooting just .375 (9-for-24) from the field.
Seattle was down 86-75 early in the fourth quarter, but used a 15-3 scoring burst – Allen had eight of those points – to nab its first lead since the game’s early moments. From there the lead went back and forth, with the Kings finally easing ahead at the end.
It was, Daniels said, a similar outcome to Tuesday night, when the Sonics played Dallas down to the wire, but ended up losing 118-116.
“We’re a very young basketball team and sometimes we don’t know how to win yet,” he said. “We don’t know the proper things to do on the floor to win, but that’ll come in time. We need to be patient with each other and continue to grow game by game.”
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