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San Antonio Spurs 103, Seattle SuperSonics 84
Seattle, WA Jan. 31 / Brett Dvorak --
In what could only be described as a must win game, the Spurs finally found the key to beating the Sonics. Manu Ginobili
scored 23 points and Tim Duncan added 21 points as the Spurs pay back Seattle, winning at the Key Arena tonight 103-84.
Facing the possibility of loosing the season series to the Sonics, San Antonio displayed a true team effort as different
Spurs took turns carrying the load. Four different Spurs had double figure quarters, but when it was time to close the game
out, the Spurs went to number twenty-one to seal the deal. On the surface, Duncan’s game didn’t seem spectacular. After
all, he had a thirty-nine-point game earlier this season against the Sonics, but when the smoke cleared, Duncan finished
with 21 points and 10 rebounds, numbers not far from his season average. What made his numbers appear so quiet was the work
of everyone else.
In the two previous meetings with the Sonics, Bruce Bowen failed to reach double figures, combined. Bowen solved that one
early tonight as Seattle left him open while attempting to stop the dribble penetration of Tony Parker. At one point in the
first quarter, Bowen had matched the ten points put up by the Sonics, including a pair of three pointers from the corner.
When Parker wasn’t setting up Bowen, he managed to get inside and score six points of his own as the Spurs had a 25-22 lead
after one quarter.
Acting head coach Dwane Casey talked about playing the Spurs; "San Antonio is a championship team for a reason. I thought
they established how they wanted to play early in the game by attacking their hoop and we didn't. We just couldn't recover
from it."
Casey was in charge because regular coach Nate McMillan was back home in North Carolina after the passing of his mother. The
Sonics were also without leading scorer Ray Allen who was out with the flu.
Ginobili talked about how important Allen is to Seattle's success; "Of course, he's an All-Star," he said. "If we were
playing without Tim, we would miss him a lot. He's (Allen) playing like an MVP right at the moment. We tried not to think
about that because every time you do, it kind of lets you down, so we didn't even think that he was missing."
Looking for someone to fill Allen’s void, the Sonics found scoring from the least likely of sources. Jerome James, not
known for his offensive game, scored eight points in the first quarter, and managed to acquire his season high of twelve
points with seven minutes left in the first half.
While James was doing his best to keep the home team close, it was Ginobili that began putting on the show. Manu scored
eight points during an 11-2 run that gave the Spurs their first double digit lead of the night (34-24). Ginobili was able to
penetrate the Seattle defense and score at will. Sonic defenders would either foul Ginobili while driving, or stand still
and let him maneuver around them.
"I should have knocked him down early," James said. "If I would have knocked him down early, maybe he would have been a
little more fearful going in there."
James’ 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots offset a poor first half for Rashard Lewis (7 points), but Manu scored
twelve of his 14 first half points in the quarter and the Spurs closed out the half scoring the final eight points to take a
48-34 lead to the locker room.
The Spurs would start the second half just like the first one ended. After scoring the first four points of the half, the
Spurs managed to extend their lead to 67-47. When Parker would penetrate, Seattle was determined to play the passing lanes,
leaving the basket wide open for what seemed to be lay up after lay up for Parker.
Getting nothing from his starters, acting coach Dwane Casey went to his bench looking for a spark. That spark came in the
form of Vladimir Radmanovic who scored seven points during a 9-0 run that cut the Spurs lead down to eleven (67-56).
Included in the run was a three pointer from Radmanovic, a forty percent shooter from long range, but on the Spurs ensuing
possession, Devin Brown responded with a three pointer of his own, thwarting the run.
One thing that could not be thwarted was Parker, who continued to pierce the interior of the Sonic defense, scoring eleven
of his 17 points in the quarter. The Spurs went to the final quarter with a 76-59 lead after Robert Horry scored the final
five points of the quarter, including a three pointer with just over two seconds to play in the quarter. Like most of the
Spurs shots in the quarter, it was set up on penetration by Parker.
"We didn't want to lose to them three times in a row," Parker said. "I thought we did a great job tonight."
Looking to get in the scoring column against his former team, former Sonic Brent Barry went to work scoring the Spurs first
eight points of the quarter in just 1:43. Barry scored all eleven of his points in the final quarter as the Spurs kept the
Sonics at bay.
Then it was up to Duncan to finish off a team the Spurs had failed to beat in the first two meetings of the year. Duncan
scored eight of the Spurs next ten points as the crowd headed for the exits.
In addition to Duncan’s 21 points, he grabbed 10 rebounds, which was equaled by Parker, who had 17 points and 6 assists to
go along with his 10 rebounds. Ginobili dished out 7 assists in addition to his game high 23 points as the Spurs shot 48%
from the floor while holding the Sonics to 41%, their lowest percentage in over a month. The thirteen points of Antonio
Daniels, Flip Murray, and Radmanovic paced Seattle. After a 12 point, 6 rebound, 4 blocked shot first half, James finished
with…..12 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots.
This was a big game for us and we approached it as such," Duncan said when about the importance of the game. "It was
unfortunate they were without their head coach and their best player, but we have lost too many games to teams playing
without their best player. It was a conscious effort not to start with a letdown."
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