SEATTLE – How great is the gap between the Seattle SuperSonics and the New Orleans Hornets?
Well, the Sonics won their ninth game of the season all the way back on Nov. 19, nearly 12 weeks ago. New Orleans, meanwhile, is still trying.
That said, no one would have guessed these were two teams going in opposite directions for much of Tuesday’s game at KeyArena. Maybe the Sonics were just being gracious hosts, but it took two entire quarters and part of a third before they finally did what they were supposed to do.
Over the game’s final 20 minutes, Seattle turned up its offense, tightened its defense and won a big advantage in rebounds on the way to a 108-91 victory. Aesthetically, it was never very pretty, but it was decisive at the end and that was enough for the fellows in the Sonics locker room.
“You’re not going to blow everybody out, regardless of their record,” pointed out Seattle guard Antonio Daniels. “That’s an NBA team over there (in the other locker room). They’re still professionals. But throughout the course of the game, we were able to wear them down.”
Ultimately, he added, the Sonics “played like a first-place team.”
“You can’t expect the other team to just lay down,” agreed guard Ray Allen. “Tonight we just had to take our time.”
Like a cat toying with a mouse, the Sonics teased the visitors into the third period before finally pulling away. The margin was 49-43 at halftime, but one quarter later the lead had grown to 79-64 and Seattle kept the Hornets at arm’s distance through the fourth quarter.
The Sonics won their third straight game and the fourth in the past five. New Orleans, which brought an NBA-worst 8-39 record into the game, fell for the sixth straight game and the 10th in its past 13 outings.
“It took us awhile to get going,” admitted Seattle coach Nate McMillan, who was coaching his first game after missing three games due to the recent death of his mother. “It seemed like we were moving in quicksand. We were standing and watching. No ball movement at all. We needed to get aggressive and force the tempo by pushing the ball, and we were able to do that in the second half.”
The Sonics nearly held New Orleans to a season-low field goal percentage for a Seattle opponent. It would have happened, except forward Casey Jacobsen dropped in a jumper in the late seconds, lifting the Hornets to a final .387 percentage (29-for-75), tying the season low set in a Nov. 24 game at Memphis.
Seattle also finished with a one-sided 41-28 edge in rebounds. New Orleans’ total was one better than the low for a Sonics opponent this season, also Memphis, in a Nov. 14 game at KeyArena.
Allen, who continues to recover from the viral infection that caused him to miss two games last week (“I’m still sucking wind a little bit,” he admitted), finished with a game-best 26 points, going 11-for-17 from the field to go with five assists and four rebounds. Backcourt mate Luke Ridnour chipped in 16 points and seven assists, and forward Vlade Radmanovic warmed up for the 3-point contest at the upcoming All-Star weekend by dropping in four of six tries from beyond the arc, on his way to 18 points.
Jacobsen had a career-high 21 points for New Orleans, while former Gonzaga star Dan Dickau, a graduate of Prairie High School in Vancouver, Washington, totaled 17 points, four assists and three steals. He received a noisy ovation when he was introduced with the other Hornets starters.
The game ended on a high note for the Sonics and their fans. Teenage center Robert Swift, activated from the injured list earlier in the day, was fouled with 23 seconds to play and went to the free throw line. He missed badly with his first attempt, but the second toss was true, bringing loud cheers from the crowd and prompting a jubilant celebration on the team bench.
Seattle’s win, combined with Minnesota’s 108-96 loss at Memphis, allowed the Sonics to pad their Northwest Division lead to 101/2 games over the second-place Timberwolves. More and more it is looking like Seattle will win the division, which assures a top-three Western Conference playoff seed.
Ahead for the Sonics is a Thursday night showdown with Western Conference rival Sacramento at KeyArena, followed by a red-eye flight to Phoenix and a Friday night contest against the red-hot Suns. Seattle follows with two more home games, Sunday night vs. Dallas and Wednesday against Golden State, before breaking for the Feb. 18-20 All-Star weekend.
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