The Seattle Times
Sonics Had No Power to Finish Out in Overtime
Ray Allen tortured the Kings, but not enough help to get the win.
Sonics-123
Kings-125 OT
Calvin Booth and the Sonics bench didn't have enough firepower to overcome the Kings.
By Kenneth F. Bunting
NOVEMBER 5, 2003
SEATTLE, WA (AP)-When you hear the story of this game, you would wonder how the Kings stoled this one in overtime. The game was close throughout all 3 quarters.
In the 1st quarter, the Sonics started out by missing their first 7 shots in the game, but at they end they cut the lead to 2 points leaving the Kings with a 23-21 lead. Lewis was the bright spot in the 1st half scoring 18 pts. Starting the 2nd half, the Sonics went on an 11-0 run led by Rashard Leweis who scored 7 of those points. The Kings still had a tight lead and we're up by 1 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Seattle had scored 30 points in that quarter and outplayed the Kings.
The thing about this game was that the Sonics turned the ball over 18 times, while the Kings only had 9 turnovers. "That really cost us the game we're the turnovers. Some of them we're unforced errors and we really need to work on that for more games to come," Coach McMillan said.
Nearing the end of the 4th quarter, the game was knotted at 96-96 all with 1:00 remaining in the game. Brent Barry had the ball, but had it stolen by backup guard Bobby Jackson with 47.1 seconds. Peja Stoajkovic missed a 3 point shot with 36.9 seconds left in the game. On the Sonics next possession, Lewis nailed a clutch 3 pointer to put Seattle up 99-96 with 30.4 seconds. Doug Christie took the ball to the time and missed a contested shot. Booth got the rebound and was fouled. Booth missed both FT's which was unbelievable at the time.
Stoajkovic had the ball on the Kings next possession and got fouled while going inside to get an easy 2. Peja made the 1st FT, but missed the 2nd. Chris Webber sneaked in and got the offensive rebound. Both Lewis and Jerome James surrounded Webber and lost the ball, but got it back somehow. He shot a 17 foot jumper and tied the game up 99-99 with 10.7 seconds remaining. Seattle set up the same play as they did last night for Lewis. Peja was on Lewis as he shot a 16 foot jumper off balance and he missed it at the buzzer. Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis we're dominating the game with a combined total of 65 pts. Webber had 21 pts through regulation. Mike Bibby scored 18 pts, while Christie had a surprising game with 17.
In overtime the Sonics played like they we're restless as the Kings had a 9 point advantage over them. Ray Allen did not give up as he nailed three 3 pointers to close the gap to 119-115 with 26.9 seconds left. As Seattle called a timeout, Allen came out and nailed another 3 with 19.8 seconds left to cut the lead to 1 point.
Seattle immediately fouled Doug Christie and sent him to the line with 19 seconds. Christie nailed both FT's very clam. Seattle had no timeouts remaining so Ray Allen was the guy to advance the ball upcourt. Booth set a nice pick for him to free him up for a wide open 3. Allen shot the ball and missed the shot with 10.4 seconds left. "I had a great look at the shot, but it was jutst one of those times where the game didn't go your way at the end," Allen said. Bibby was fouled and he went to the line to only hit both FT's to give the Kings 5 point lead. Flip Murray came down to hit a 3 with 3.9 seconds left. The Kings kept the ball away from the Sonics and ran out the clock to win the game 125-123.
Mike Bibby was the Player of the Game with 22 pts, 9 asts and 5 rebs. Ray Allen was the only Sonic to score in OT, with the exception of Flip Murray and Rashard Lewis. Allen finished with 45 pts (12 in overtime), 6-13 from 3 point range, 7 rebs and 4 asts. Rashard Lewis finished with 36 pts, 4-8 from downtown, 6 rebs and 5 asts. Murray was the only spark off the bench scoring 13 pts. Jerome James had a double-double performance with 10 pts and 19 rebs. Radmanovic was able to grab 12 rebs in the game. Chris Webber led the Kings with 25 pts on 12-13 shooting from the field and grabbed 8 boards. CHristie was the key factor in the game and scored 21 pts. Peja Stojakovic scored 18 pts, 5 asts and 4 rebs. Bobby Jackson came off the bench for the Kings to score 14 pts behind PG Mike Bibby.
Seattle shot 42% in the game, while the Kings shot an amazing 58%.
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ESPN NBA Fastbreak
Hi everyone, and welcome back from an exciting finish in Arco Arena. The Supersonics fell short of winning their 4th straight game as the Kings knocked them off in overtime 125-123 in a high scoring affair. What are your thoughts about this game Stephen A, and how well do you think Seattle performed as they finally faced an elite team in the NBA?
Seattle came out and did their thing. What kept them from winning this game, was the fact that Ray Allen was basically the only one scoring in the overtime period which really hurt them. He was almost able to do it all himself, but in the final seconds he missed the 3 point shot that could've sent the game into double OT. I was reall surprised at Rashard Lewis during the OT period because he only scored 3 pts. If he could've produced just as well as Ray Allen, then the Sonics would've won this game tonight. The Kings played like the Kings as usual. They ran a fast pace game and got the score all the way up in the 120's. They knew that Seattle couldn't keep up with their high-powered offense, so their strategy was to go in and score as many points as possible. Seattle will be a good team this year and they showed it tonight, by giving the Kings all they had to beat them in overtime.
Stephen A, finally given the Sonics some love here. This has been a great night of basketball, and we will see you all later on in the week. Goodnight ladies and gentlmen.
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