Well, the Sonics managed to hold on until the end this time, pulling out a 101-96 victory over Cleveland and LeBron James, who scored 30 and dished out 8 assists. Ray Allen had 22 points and 11 assists. Here are some key reasons for the Sonics' victory tonight, and these are matters that have been preventing them from winning this season:
- Rebounds: The Sonics OUT-REBOUNDED the Cavaliers tonight 46-39. Preventing second-chance points has been hard for the Sonics, who are usually outrebounded in their losses. But tonight, they crashed those boards, and they grabbed the ball. Most notable - Nick Collison: 12 rebounds (6 offensive rebounds, giving US second-chance points) and Chris Wilcox: 12 rebounds (9 defensive rebounds to prevent THEIR second-chance points).
- Free Throws (fouls) - Something that has often given other teams a chance are free throws (the Sonics lead the NBA in the foul differential between them and their opponents), and the fact that the Sonics lack getting to the line (22nd in the NBA in free throw attempts). Tonight, the Cavs only scored one more free throw than the Sonics. Not incredible, but the balance helped.
- Turnovers. This one just kills. One slip-up at a crucial moment, and we're in the gutters again. Square one, on the defensive, and hoping that they don't score and take a chunk off of our lead, or that they don't extend their own. The Sonics are 11th in the league in overall turnovers. But tonight, they only had 13 total turnovers. Compared to some games (losses, in particular) where they had 20 or 25 TO. It's quite simple: The less turnovers we have, the more opportunities to score that we have, and the less opportunities our opponents have to score on us.
Good job, SuperSonics. This is where we stand now: 2 games in a row won, 4 games more remaining on our 6-game homestand. Hopefully, we will at least take two of these next 4, but we have no easy competition ahead. The Milwaukee Bucks and Michael Redd. The Denver Nuggets and Allen Iverson, The Minnesota Timberwolves and Kevin Garnett, Los Angelas Clippers and Elton Brand. After that, it's back on the road to Dallas, to take on the red-hot Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki. Then, to Houston, where we challenge the Rockets, who have pulled themselves together quite well, and have been winning with the leadership of team captain Tracy McGrady. If the Sonics (big "if") can win a majority of these games, then they will gain respect in the league, and finally we will not be ignored for the team we truly are. An All-Star team. Luke Ridnour, Ray Allen, Nick Collison, Chris Wilcox, and (in our prayers to heal) Rashard Lewis.
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