Seattle Takes Advantage of Duncan's Absence to Take a 26-Point Lead to Halftime

By SonicsKevin

Forward Vladimir Radmanovic had a coming-out party after earning a starting spot for game four. He made all seven shots in the first half and finished with a career-high 23 points.

Without Duncan, the best player on the court was undoubtedly Seattle's Gary Payton, named earlier in the day to the second-team all-NBA. Payton, whose play has been questioned in this series due to the success of his opposing number, rookie Tony Parker, silenced his critics with a game four for the ages: 28 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists -- his second career playoff triple-double. The Sonics also received a significant spark from rookie Vladimir Radmanovic during the first half. Radmanovic, who has struggled with a lingering toe injury throughout this series, made all seven of his first half attempts from the field, including five of five, before finishing with a career-high 23 points.

Despite coming out without starting big men Duncan and David Robinson, the Spurs began quickly and were able to lead in the early going. But it was only a matter of time before their superior talent began to win out. Midway through the quarter, the team went on a 9-0 run that extended their lead to 20-9 and drew a standing ovation from the sellout Seattle crowd. After a quarter, the Sonics held a 24-13 advantage.

In the second quarter, the Sonic defense was turned up a notch, making it difficult for San Antonio to score. Through the quarter's first eight minutes, the Spurs managed only one basket (a layup by Steve Smith) and a pair of three throws, stuck on 17 points with halftime drawing near. The Sonics had no such trouble, extending their lead to the 20-point level. After a mini-San Antonio run, the home team responded with its best stretch of the night, with Radmanovic the key. He nailed consecutive three-pointer, and Payton followed with a third for an instant 9-0 run that allowed Seattle to take a commanding 26-point lead to halftime, with game four looking to be a blowout along the lines of games one (21-point margin) and three, only this time with the Sonics on top.

After halftime, however, the Spurs took the court with a renewed spirit and vigor. Surprising Seattle with a zone defense to start the half, they scored on their first two possessions and also got stops at the other end, quickly slicing the lead to 22 and drawing some concern from more pessimistic Sonics fans. To stem the tide, Seattle turned to a player whose main contribution thus far in the series had been a highlight-reel dunk.

Lost in the concern over Brent Barry's poor play, continued in game four, Desmond Mason struggled in the Sonics' two losses, scoring a combined 18 points on seven for 18 shooting. In the third quarter of game four, Mason began aggressively going to the rim, resulting first in two free throws which he split and then an alley-oop dunk plus a foul. His game thus in gear, Mason subsequently sunk a jumper and would finish the second half with 13 points. The only negative was his struggles from the free-throw line; normally a 90% shooter, Mason made just half of his 10 attempts.

Mason's contributions were more than matched on the other end by San Antonio's Malik Rose, providing a reasonable proxy of Duncan in the latter's absence. Matched up largely against smaller players, Rose dominated, finishing with 26 points and 13 rebounds -- seven on the offensive end. While Mason was uncharacteristically struggling at the charity stripe, Rose was feasting, making 12 of 13.

Thanks largely to Rose's powerful play in the post and aggressive defense that stifled the Sonics in the second half, holding them to just 34 points in the second half, San Antonio was nearly able to make a game out of what looked to be over at the half. They crawled within 11 points at one stretch, but the gap was simply too much to make up and two free throws by Radmanovic closed out the 12-point victory, 91-79.

With the teams facing each other for the fourth time in a week and a half, tensions flared during both halves. Just after tipoff, Barry and Bruce Bowen had a brief confrontation after Bowen threw an elbow while defending Barry. Both received technicals, as did Vin Baker, attempting to intervene.

The third quarter was marred by a scuffle between San Antonio replacement center Mark Bryant and Sonics Payton and Mason after contact during a wild scramble for a loose ball. Bryant, taking offense to the Sonics' tactics, went after the duo and may have thrown a punch during an extended sequence that concluded with Bryant and Mason both receiving technicals and the former ejected, leaving the Spurs with just two active big men. San Antonio also lost forward Charles Smith during the period when he flipped over a Seattle player while attempting to grab a rebound, landing hard on his back and heading to the locker room after spending the duration of a timeout on the ground.

Now, the series shifts back to San Antonio for a deciding game five. The Sonics will be playing a deciding game in the first round for the second time in three years, taking the Utah Jazz the distance before losing by three points in game five of their 2000 opening round series. The Spurs, meanwhile, will be playing a fifth game in the first round for the first time since 1985; in the Robinson era, the Spurs have historically taken care of business without needing a fifth game. The key, of course, will be the availability of Duncan, who has said he will return in time for Friday's finale. The Spurs -- and a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals against the Lakers -- are counting on it.

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