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Suns Too Hot for Sonics
Majerle's Late Threes, Marbury's Speed Sink Seattle
By SonicsKevin
Vladimir Radmanovic, left, demonstrated why the Sonics had missed him during his 15 game absence by making a trio of three-pointers.
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It's been eight years since the Seattle Supersonics and the Phoenix Suns last met in the playoffs. Back then,
both teams' current head coaches -- Nate McMillan and Frank Johnson, respectively -- were backup point
guards. And the only two players remaining on the teams are Phoenix's Dan Majerle and Seattle's Gary
Payton. But even though the Suns will miss the playoffs this season for the first time in 13 seasons and
the Sonics will be the seventh or the eighth seed, with a little squinting to obscure the uniforms, it wasn't
tough to imagine these two teams battling in June, not April, with a date with Michael Jordan and the
Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals on the line. At least Majerle was flashing back. Though the erstwhile
Phoenix star has already announced his retirement effective at the end of the season and he hasn't been
considered a top outside shooter in seven years, he provided a blast for the past for the fans in Phoenix's
America West Arena with a pair of clutch three-point daggers to sink the Sonics this evening by a 99-92
final.
Despite looking a bit sluggish playing 24 hours after clinching a playoff berth in last night's victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sonics willed themselves into an 88-all tie with two and a half minutes left after Peja Drobnjak made two free throws. That's when Majerle, who has made only 33% of his shots in his final season, was transported to another time and another place -- when he was the toast of Phoenix as "Thunder Dan". Left alone as the Sonics focused on the Suns' other perimeter shooters, Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion, Majerle buried a three-pointer to put the Suns in control by three. The other grizzled veteran, Payton, answered with a shot in the lane, and the Sonics had a chance to tie after a stop. But Drobnjak, who had a pair of important scores down the stretch a night ago, misfired on a 12-footer from the baseline. Phoenix answered with a runner from rookie Joe Johnson to go back up three with a little over a minute remaining. Needing a quick score, the Sonics gave the ball to a driving Desmond Mason. A night after setting a new career-high with 36 points, Mason struggled against Phoenix, making only three of 12 from the field. That would not change on this play, as Mason's layup attempt was blocked by Marion. The Suns recovered, needing only a score to ice the game. Marbury, who Seattle's perimeter defenders would only realize from the rear, as he spent most of the night beating them into the lane to create either a shot for himself or a dump-off for a dunk by a teammate, isolated against Payton. He went right and created contact, drawing a foul and knocking down the runner. His free throw put his team up by six to end the game for all intents and purposes. Majerle, down to four more games in a Phoenix uniform, still wasn't finished. After a Sonic score, he backed up well beyond the three point line to can his third triple off the ballgame and finish the scoring in a 99-92 victory for his Suns. The Sonics might never have faced yet another close game -- their previous six games had been decided by a total of 17 points -- were it not for their horrific finish to the first quarter. After scoring on four straight possessions to take an 18-16 lead with four minutes left in the quarter, Seattle surrendered 11 consecutive points to Phoenix. The main culprit was turnovers, as an unfocused Sonic group gave the ball up on five of their six next possessions. All told, they failed to convert on 10 straight possessions as their score stuck on 18. In only his second game back from a sprained toe, rookie forward Vladimir Radmanovic got right back into the swing of things during the second quarter, catalyzing a Sonic run with two three-pointers in three possessions. Payton and Barry also got into the act as Seattle tied the game on a 14-2 run. Again, they failed to finish the quarter strong, however, and went to halftime trailing by six. During the fourth quarter, the teams went back and forth with Phoenix unable to put Seattle away. Radmanovic's third triple of the night closed the game to within two at 78-76. With just over five minutes left, the Sonics got to within one point -- the closest they had been since halftime. They later would tie the game at the free throw line, as Jake Voskuhl committed consecutive fouls to give freebies to Ansu Sesay and Drobnjak. They made all four, and momentarily it looked like the Sonics would pull a late comeback out of their hat. Seattle got a strong effort from Gary Payton, hardly coasting into the post-season while scoring 23 points on 10 of 15 shooting. The rest of the starters, however, struggled, making 16 of 43 from the field. In addition to Mason, Barry (6 of 17, four turnovers) had an off night offensively. On the other side, Marbury drove the lane virtually at will and had a monster night, making 11 of 16 shots and scoring 27 points while also trying to address critics who believe he is not a true point guard with 11 assists. Many of those passes went to Voskuhl, Bo Outlaw, and Alton Ford. The three Phoenix big men, normally quiet offensively, scored a combined 33 points on 12 of 15 shots.
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