Sonics Hold Off Wolves In Triumphant ReturnSeattle 93, Minnesota 89 FJared Dudley's season high last season was 21 points. Tonight, in his Seattle SuperSonics debut, he scored 23.
In a game which saw Chris Paul struggle with turnovers and Blake Griffin with foul trouble, the heavily favored Sonics had a difficult time with the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves. Fortunately, the three-ball was falling and Kevin Love had a quiet game, allowing Seattle to hold them of down the stretch.
The starting lineups were announced to a standing ovation, and the Sonics responded with an 8-0 run to start the game. However, a well-timed timeout by Flip Saunders helped the Wolves get the game back within 1. Griffin picked up two quick fouls, but fortunately Drew Gooden was filling in admirably. Things went downhill when Nazr Mohammed came in for DeAndre Jordan, allowing Minny to take a 21-14 lead before Dudley sank back-to-back threes.
Kevin Love was unable to get going in the second quarter, but fortunately for them, Ricky Rubio was picking up the slack. Shabazz Napier showed promise in his debut, ultimately scoring 10 points and dishing 6 assists in 13 minutes of action. Sean Kilpatrick and Kaleb Tarczewski however did not see the floor. Thanks to Dudley's four made threes and some solid defense, the Sonics found themselves tied at the half, despite making plenty of errors.
Halftime Tweets
@SonicsBlog Tied at 43 at half, Dudley 16pts
@SonicsArena It's good to be back
@nellieball1940 4 3's for Dudley - could have been an all-star C in my system
Seattle's offense finally came alive in the third quarter. Blake Griffin got on track with a couple epic dunks, and scored 8 of his 11 points in the third, while Paul and Crawford also started to hit shots. Kevin Martin kept Minnesota in the game but the Clippers found themselves up 71-66 going into the fourth.
Seattle's lead would swell to 12 in the fourth quarter, before the Wolves went on a 14-4 run. A timely three pointer by Paul swelled the lead to five, but a Nikola Pekovic dunk put the Wolves within three with 31.4 seconds remaining. Chris Paul dribbled the clock out for 20 seconds before kicking it out to Jamal Crawford who bricked a three. DeAndre Jordan got the rebound however and was immediately fouled. A dismal free throw shooter, he unsurprisingly bricked the first before sinking the second to make the score read 91-87. Ricky Rubio sank a quick layup with 3 seconds to go, but Jamal Crawford sank a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
Chris Paul scored 19 points and dished 7 assists, but his stat line was marred by six turnovers. Jared Dudley led the way for the Sonics with 23, while Ricky Rubio chipped in 18 for Minnesota, with Kevin Martin chipping in 15 as well. The Trail Blazers come to town on the first to renew the I-5 rivalry before the Sonics go on the road for the first time to face Kobe, Marcus Smart and the Lakers.
MIN 23 20 23 23 | 89 - Rubio: 18 pts, 8 asts, 4 rebs
SEA 22 21 28 22 | 93 - Dudley: 23 pts, 7 rebs, 3 asts, 9-14 FG, 5-9 3pt
RECORD: 1-0