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Houston Sends Sonics Home Empty-Handed
Desperation Three Falls Off, Taking Seattle Hopes
By SonicsKevin
Desmond Mason, left, continued his recent offensive surge with 18 points in a losing effort.
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The Seattle Supersonics headed out Sunday morning for a two-game road trip as road warriors, having won
nine of their last ten games away from KeyArena. They will return home bruised, battered, and mostly
beaten, learning not to mess with Texas after being swept on their 'Texas two-step' in Dallas and Houston,
the latter by a 101-98 final.
Tonight in Houston, the Sonics had a number of opportunities to wrest control of a game which was back in forth all night. However, a mid-fourth quarter lead that went as high as seven (88-81 at the 7:20 mark) evaporated under the weight of rushed shots from the perimeter and open looks allowed the Rockets. Houston went on a 13-0 run, keeping the Sonics from stuck on the score of 88 for better than three and a half minutes while scoring on five of their six possessions, including three consecutive three pointers by Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Eddie Griffin, all uncontested. Nevertheless, when Gary Payton finally stemmed the tide with a seven foot runner in the lane, the visitors were still in place to steal a victory and go home happy, down four with just over three minutes left. A jumper from Desmond Mason two possessions later sliced the Houston lead to just two points. With the game in the balance, the Rockets turned to an unlikely offensive weapon, forward Kenny Thomas. Thomas drove against defender Art Long and was able to convert from five feet out. After a Mason miss and a pair of errant attempts from Francis, who had beaten the Utah Jazz with a buzzer beater on Sunday, Sonic guard Brent Barry leaked out on the defensive rebound and was able to throw down a dunk which again put his team within two points. Mobley was fouled, making both attempts, and the Sonics got another easy basket from Payton, as his layup with 13 seconds left kept faint Seattle hopes alive. These hopes were fanned when former Sonic guard Moochie Norris missed the second of his two attempts. Out of timeouts, the Sonics hurried the ball across halfcourt, trying for a good look at the basket. Mason briefly drove the sideline before thinking better of the attempt and giving to Barry, the NBA's leader in three point shooting last season. Under stifling pressure, Barry worked the ball to rookie center Peja Drobnjak at the top of the key. Drobnjak, who had attempted just one three pointer all season long, pump faked to his left, drawing a defender away, and had an open 25-footer. However, his momentum was carrying him slightly away from the basket, and the flat-footed shooter did not have the necessary lift, as the ball came up short of everything, trickling out of bounds as the Rockets celebrated their second straight victory by a 101-98 final. That the game would come down to the final seconds was fitting and predictable, as the teams slogged it out throughout the evening in a back-and-forth manner. Neither team ever held a lead of double digits, with both teams' largest margins on opposite ends of the 13-0 Houston run in the fourth quarter -- the Sonics by seven, the Rockets by six. The teams built their scores in distinctly different manners, with the Sonics making a living off mid-range shots and creating mismatches through the pick and roll. They decidedly outshot Houston, making 51% from the field as opposed to 44%, but the Rockets were deadly from beyond the arc and at the free throw line. Inside penetration by Francis was crtical; he had eight assists, many of them leading to the Rockets' 11 three pointers, as they became the second straight opponent to hit that many from beyond the arc against the Sonics. Houston also got to the line twice as often as Seattle, making them at a far better clip -- 80% to 69% -- once there. Six of the Rockets' threes came from shooting guard Mobley, who absolutely tore apart the Sonic defense. Frequently and inexplicably left alone from behind the arc, Mobley made 6 of 10 from downtown and 14 of 24 overall, scoring 38 points, most of them coming when his teammates were struggling offensively. Despite Drobnjak's miss at the buzzer, Seattle received a strong effort from both members of their big man tandem. A night after not getting off the bench against Dallas, Jerome James was a monster in the paint, making 5 of 7 attempts and scoring 10 points while also grabbing nine rebounds, blocking two shots, and picking up two steals. One of the steals led to the play of the night, with the 7-1 James hauling in a loose ball near midcourt and dashing towards the Sonics' hoop flanked by two smaller defenders, somehow maintaing control before finishing with a thunderous flush. Drobnjak also made 5 of 7 shots, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds. After the Rockets got off to a quick start, leading 12-7, the first quarter epitomized the night's nip-and-tuck nature. Four straight times, the teams traded buckets, with the Sonics able to get within one but incapable of taking the lead. They did this two minutes into the next period, with a 10-2 run to open the second putting Seattle seemingly in control. Houston answered with a 21-10 run as they appeared to seize momentum prior to a wild final minute that saw the Sonics score 11 points in 44 seconds. Barry was the catalyst, first coverting an old-fashioned three point play, making a three pointer with two seconds left, then stealing the inbounds pass before the half for the second straight night. Barry dribbled quickly to the elbow, paused to allow a Rocket defender to hurtle past, then sunk an off-balance three to send the Sonics to halftime with a 54-51 lead. It too would not last; it only took Houston 34 seconds to knot the game again on a triple from Walt Williams, who was a thorn in the Sonics' side, scoring 14 points, mostly when he was uncovered. Seattle again opened up a lead as large as five, but fittingly the game went into the final quarter all tied after a Payton bucket with three seconds left.
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