By Percy Allen
Seattle Times staff reporter
San Antonio — The basketball danced enticingly along the rim before
shooting straight up and falling through the net with a second remaining on
the clock.
San Antonio center Nazr Mohammed kept his arms frozen in his follow-through
as he watched the three-pointer that ended last night's Western Conference
semifinal at the SBC Center and sent the Supersonics back to Seattle with a
108-91 defeat and a 2-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series.
It was the final indignity in a game in which the Supersonics believed they
were tantalizingly close to stealing a victory. But they were never truly in
the contest, despite Ray Allen's gutty performance on a sore right ankle.
"There is no need for anyone in this locker room to hang their heads,"
Allen said. "There were just a lot of breaks in this game and it seemed like
none of them went our way. By no means is this team coming apart. We just
have to go home and give our fans a show."
Game 3 is tomorrow at KeyArena and Game 4 is Sunday.
The Supersonics were scheduled to arrive in Seattle early this morning.
They bring with them a small piece of hope that they can do what only 15
other NBA teams have accomplished and win a playoff series after losing the
first two games.
To do, they believe they must somehow rediscover the formula that led to
their 52-30 season and two regular-season victories against the Spurs.
Luke Ridnour dressed in relative silence in a corner of the locker room
reminiscing on all of the times he failed to create easier shots for
teammates. The Supersonics guard finished with one assist, which was
indicative of Seattle's performance.
"They got us playing their game," Ridnour said. "And they're better at it
than we are."
The Spurs have won 13 playoff series since 1999 and a pair of NBA
championships playing this way, while the Supersonics, who averaged
98.9points in the regular season, are more accustomed to a quicker
pace.
Despite the absence of Vladimir Radmanovic, who rolled his ankle in Game 1
and won't play again in the series, the Supersonics will attempt to find a
way to extend a San Antonio defense that held them to 26.1 percent (6 of 23)
shooting in the first quarter.
"We don't have everyone, but it's hard to score in the half court and doing
post-ups all the time," Ridnour said. "We can do that, but against this team
we can't keep on doing that. We've got to play our game, and that's what
they've done. They've taken us out of playing our game.
"All season long, we were pushing the ball. We were the aggressors and now
we're on the defense and letting them come at us, and we can't win like
that."
It's as if the Supersonics and Spurs switched roles before last night's
game.
San Antonio dominated the fast-break points (22-8), sank more
three-pointers (5-4), finished with more assists (20-12) and constantly
attacked Seattle's back-pedaling back-court with guards Manu Ginobili and
Tony Parker.
"We are lucky to all be so unselfish, share the ball and find our open
teammates," said Parker, who finished with 22 points and seven assists. "We
move the ball and wait for our turn to make plays."
Ginobili, however, waited for no one. He came off the bench and almost
immediately took charge while scoring a game-high 28 points on 9-for-11
shooting.
"I really don't know what he does [out there]," forward Tim Duncan said
while laughing. "He just kind of puts his head down, and we pray for the
best."
The Spurs guards drove into the lane repeatedly, where they scored almost
at will. Duncan appeared to play in spurts but still managed 25 points and
nine rebounds. The Spurs' Big Three outpaced Seattle's contingent, which was
led by Allen's 25 points.
He provided an emotional lift in the early minutes — until the Spurs took
control of the game and forced the Supersonics to play from behind. With
Duncan on the bench, the Spurs went on a 7-0 run and stretched a 13-8
first-quarter lead to 20-8.
San Antonio kept a double-digit lead throughout the quarter and led 54-42
at halftime.
With 3:03 remaining in the third quarter, Allen cut the Supersonics'
deficit to seven with a pair of free throws before San Antonio scored seven
straight points and began the fourth quarter with a 79-65 lead.
San Antonio maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.
Allen did all he could to deliver the Supersonics an upset 48 hours after
rolling his ankle in Game 1. He overcame defender Bruce Bowen and a sold-out
crowd that booed him every time he touched the ball to convert 6 of 14
field-goal attempts, including three three-pointers.
His performance stopped San Antonio from duplicating its 103-81 blowout in
the series opener, but the Supersonics' Big Three of Allen, Rashard Lewis
(22) and Antonio Daniels (16) were unable keep pace with the Spurs'
contingent of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker.
"For some reason, we can't get any good looks from behind the line," Lewis
said. "We're a good three-point shooting team, and if we're going to beat
them, we've got to do a better job shooting the three."
The Supersonics sank 4 of 15 three-point attempts last night after going 2
for 10 in Game 1.
To rediscover their missing three-pointers, Allen believes Seattle needs to
play at a faster pace.
"It requires the players have to be in shape and the coach has to let us
get a little wild and crazy," he said. "That's what we have to do. We've
just got to go out there, throw the ball up and just go."


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