SEATTLE – For the first half on Friday night, the Seattle SuperSonics hardly looked like one of the NBA’s premier teams. More mediocre than mighty, they stumbled through two ho-hum quarters against the lowly Golden State Warriors.
Fortunately, every NBA game has a second half and the Sonics, fueled by some stern halftime words from coach Nate McMillan, used those final two quarters to full advantage. After playing the undermanned and undertalented Warriors dead-even through the first half, Seattle pulled steadily away in the second to post a decisive 103-84 victory.
“I wasn’t worried (at halftime),” said Sonics All-Star guard Ray Allen, “but we didn’t play well in the first half. There were a lot of breakdowns by everybody. … But for the most part, in the second half we took care of business. We came out and played basketball.”
The victory, which was enjoyed by a KeyArena crowd of 16,519, came against a slumping Golden State team that has lost eight straight games and is 11-26, the worst record in the Western Conference save for the lowly New Orleans Hornets.
“This was one of those games where the other team doesn’t have a good record and you tend to think it’s going to be an easy night,” Allen acknowledged. “So we didn’t come out (and treat it) with the kind an importance we should have.”
There were bad omens early for the Sonics. Warriors forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. scored layins the first four times he touched the ball at the offensive end, helping the visitors nab a quick 10-2 lead. That was enough to bring a scowling McMillan off the bench, signaling for a timeout.
“How can a guy get four layups the first few possessions of the game?” he would ask later. “And after that we gave up another two open looks. We just didn’t execute on the defensive end of the floor in the first half.”
McMillan expressed those same sentiments to his team at halftime, and from there the Sonics never trailed again. Golden State stayed close through much of the third quarter, even managing twice to tie the score, but Seattle closed the period with a 13-4 scoring run, including eight points from guard Antonio Daniels.
The margin was 10 points heading into the final quarter and Seattle kept the Warriors at arm’s distance the rest of the way, finally breaking it open in the late moments.
“In the second half we started to defend,” McMillan said. “We were able to get control of the game because of our defense. Offensively, we had a number of guys knock down shots, and I think (good offense) starts from the defensive end of the floor.”
Seattle had five players score in double figures, led by the 22 points of All-Star guard Ray Allen. Backup guard Flip Murray, picking up many of the minutes usually given to injured forward Rashard Lewis, delivered 17 points and six assists in 32 minutes, all season highs.
“I thought Ronald played well,” McMillan said. “We needed a lift tonight and I thought he was aggressive. Defensively, he was involved in the game. And offensively, when he has it going and is knocking down shots, it’s hard to stop him. But I thought he too did a better job defensively on the floor. … With minutes, he showed that he can do some things.”
Golden State had four players in double figures, but the other seven who played had just nine points between them. Seattle, in fact, finished with a 47-9 margin in bench scoring.
“We just have to play with a certain level of energy,” said Warriors coach Mike Montgomery. “When we don’t, it’s just not going to happen for us.”
The Sonics, he added, “are good. There’s a reason they are good. There’s no question that they play pretty well together and they have a deep bench.”
While Seattle was without Lewis, who sat out with tendinitis in his left knee, Golden State was missing guard Jason Richardson, the team’s leading scorer who has missed the past eight games with a sprained ankle.
“Any time you have injuries to key players like Richardson,” McMillan said, “that makes it hard on a team.”
Friday’s game was the first of five in a row for the Sonics at KeyArena. Next up is the lone Seattle appearance this season of the Cleveland Cavaliers and guard LeBron James on Sunday night.
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