SEATTLE – After consecutive losses to three of the best teams from the Western Conference, the Seattle SuperSonics badly needed to get back on a winning track.
The solution? Take on the worst team from the Eastern Conference.
With the lowly Chicago Bulls in town, the Sonics got what guard Antonio Daniels called “a must-win” Monday night, pulling away from the visitors in the second half for a methodical 109-97 decision at KeyArena. The game was, in a way, a respite between difficult games in the last week against Dallas, the LA Lakers and Sacramento, and more difficult games in the coming week against Sacramento, San Antonio, Phoenix (on a back-to-back night) and Portland.
In light of the schedule, said Seattle coach Nate McMillan, “We needed a win. Even though we don’t talk about (upcoming) games, I do know the games ahead of us. And those are tough games, so in a game like this it was important that we play well.”
After a seesaw first half with 12 lead changes and two ties, the Sonics went in front of Chicago to stay with the first basket of the third quarter. The lead remained in double digits for all but the first few seconds of the fourth quarter and reached a high of 16 points midway through the final period.
Seattle was led by the backcourt of Ray Allen, who regained his shooting touch after three sub-par shooting games, who scored 27 points (11-for-16 from the field), and Daniels, who had 10 points and 12 assists, the latter matching his career best.
Daniels, who had a career-high 30 points in Saturday’s 110-103 loss to Sacramento, had a dozen assists through three quarters and would have had 13 if teammates hadn’t missed some wide-open looks in the last few minutes. He did not play in the fourth quarter except for the final 40 seconds and had no passes for possible assists.
“We got the win,” Daniels said, shrugging off the missed opportunity for a career high. “That’s the most important thing.”
After big nights for scoring and then assists, will he take aim at rebounds tonight against Sacramento?
“That’s not really my thing,” laughed Daniels, whose career best for rebounds is 10.
Back to assists. As a team, the Sonics finished with a season high of 34, topping the previous 2003-04 best of 29 vs. Portland on January 5.
“We’ve been talking about passing all season long,” McMillan said, “and when we share the ball it gets you in a rhythm. When a team can shoot the ball in rhythm, it’s tough to defend that team. We’ve been talking about that a lot this season, and whenever we’ve had 25 or more assists we’ve pretty much been in control of that game.”
In addition to Allen and Daniels, the Sonics got good performances from starting forwards Rashard Lewis and Reggie Evans. Lewis had 20 points (including five 3-pointers) and six rebounds while Evans, in just his second start of the season, led Seattle with eight rebounds to go with five points and three assists.
And, lastly, Vlade Radmanovic, who had 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists in what was clearly his best effort since moving to the bench eight games ago.
“I think he came in focused on playing and not so much focused on where (in the lineup) he was playing,” McMillan said. “He seemed to be more relaxed and more comfortable coming off the bench. His head was in the game. He wasn’t moping. He was aggressive and he really kind of saved us because he made some big shots.”
Chicago’s Jamal Crawford, a graduate of Rainier Beach High School, had a dandy homecoming, tossing in a game-high 31 points to go with four assists and three rebounds. Crawford, who was greeted warmly by the KeyArena crowd during introductions, also had the play of the game midway through the third quarter. Curling into the key from the right wing, his running shot banked off the backboard and he caught the ball in the air, flushing it with two hands and drawing a foul, which he converted.
“He plays hard,” McMillan said. “He’s a little loose, but he’s very creative. He gave us some problems. We talked about how to guard that guy and he was still able to drop 31 – wow, 31 – on us. I’m sure he’s happy with his homecoming.”
While McMillan was obviously pleased with the outcome, his counterpart just as obviously was not. Bulls coach Scott Skiles was frustrated by his team’s performance, but more so by the officiating. In particular, he took aim at longtime referee Jess Kersey.
With remarks likely to prompt a league fine, Skiles said, “Jess Kersey turned his back on me right from the beginning of the game. I’m not sure why … He spent most of the game not even acknowledging any of the questions we had. He really was a big baby out there, I thought. It’s a shame for a guy with his experience to be that way, but that’s what happened.”
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