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Is it the room service? A new hotel every night? The thousands of fans screaming for the
opposition? The absence of rain?
Whatever it is, the Seattle SuperSonics absolutely love the road. Just an 18-23 team away from home last season, the Sonics improved to .500 on the road this season (14-14) with their sixth straight road win this afternoon, beating the Toronto Raptors 101-92. After a poor Sonic first half that saw them commit nine turnovers and trail by as many as 15, it seemed like they would be blown out in the first game of their five-game East coast swing which lasts until next Sunday. However, the Seattle offense came alive near the end of the third quarter, as they went on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to just three heading to the final period. That perilous Toronto advantage disappeared quickly, as Sonic rookie Vladimir Radmanovic made a three on the team's first play of the quarter to tie the game. At that point, both offenses went into neutral, as the teams combined for just three points over the next three and a half minutes. Seattle's offense subsequently warmed up while Toronto's continued to fizzle, and an 8-2 Sonic run allowed them to take an advantage of six to the game's final five minutes, leading 87-81. The momentum dissipated under the force of two straight Raptor buckets sandwiched around a Rashard Lewis missed layup, as the Seattle lead was cut to two and the crowd got into the game. The Sonics, who had struggled in close home games until a three-point defeat of Atlanta last Friday, were undeterred, answering by digging in on both ends of the court. Lewis, who has struggled in the fourth quarter of late, was fouled and made one free throw before making an open jumper from the right baseline to put Seattle up 92-85 with the two-minute mark approaching. Toronto quickly cut into the lead with Vince Carter, playing for the first time in seven games, making a flat-footed open three-pointer. No problem for the Sonics, as Lewis again nailed a nearly-identical jumper from the right baseline with ice water coursing through his veins. Then the Sonics caught a major break. Carter drove the lane strong and was picked up by Payton and Jerome James, who combined to hammer him to the floor as the layup fell harmlessly short. No foul was called, leaving Carter incensed and his teammates forced to foul as Seattle raced in the other direction with a minute and a half left. Payton was sent to the line, making the first attempt and drawing another break. Toronto's Keon Clark interfered with a miss; the basket interference gave the Sonics a comfortable nine-point lead. Clark attempted to make amends for his mistake with a runner in the lane, but James cut off any remaining hopes of a Raptor miracle by putting the exclamation point on the victory with a thunderous putback of a Payton miss. James, who has played well since emerging as the Sonics' top post player in the absence of injured forward Vin Baker, had his best game in a Seattle uniform. He posted career-highs in both points and rebounds and had a double-double with 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting, 12 boards, and three blocks just for good measure. He had plenty of offensive help, as all three Seattle perimeter starters topped 20 points. Barry led the team with 23 points (including his second straight game with four triples), six boards, and seven assists. Payton had 22 points and eight assists, while Lewis recovered from a miserable first half to score 21. Toronto relied heavily on Carter, who was doubtful to play in the game because of the right quadriceps sprain which has cost him seven games, all Toronto losses. He led the Raptors with 28 points, but made only 11 of 27 and struggled heavily as the Sonics turned up their defensive pressure in the third quarter and used tough defenders Payton and Desmond Mason on Carter. Seattle also pounded Carter; in addition to the aforementioned drive where he was sent to the floor without retribution, Carter also crumpled to the floor twice after Sonic fouls with apparent slight re-aggravations of the injury. Carter's reappearance did open up the offense for his teammates. Keon Clark scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Morris Peterson chipped in 18, and Antonio Davis shot poorly but scored 16 points and hauled in 12 boards. Alvin Williams was content to set up these teammates, scoring just four points but handing out 14 assists. However, most of the Raptors' offensive damage was done in the first half, as they put 51 points on the board before being held to just 15 in the final period. Seattle came out slow and put themselves in a hole for the second straight game, trailing as badly as 11-5 in the early going. The Sonics rallied to actually take the lead for the only time in the first half at the 3:46 mark, but subsequently committed four straight turnovers as Toronto went on a 13-0 run to close the quarter with an 11 point lead which they extended to as large as 15 in the second quarter as turnovers plagued Seattle in the first half. Again, Seattle rallied to keep it close, cutting the lead to just five before again slipping back to an 11 point deficit at halftime.
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