"Same old Bruce," Allen said. "I got caught on his foot and it just turned. He's good for that. He's done that before."
Like it's Bruce's fault that Ray landed on him! Freaking cry baby!!
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Sonics
Hobbled and humbled: Allen, Radmanovic hurt in rout
By Percy Allen
Seattle Times staff reporter
SAN ANTONIO — Ray Allen walked gingerly in front of the Sonics' bench, testing his tender right ankle. He grimaced as he leaned on teammates for support and shifted his weight from side to side.
At about the same time, attendants pushed Vladimir Radmanovic's wheelchair through the corridors of the SBC Center. He received treatment for a severely sprained right ankle in the locker room.
Hobbled and humbled early in their Western Conference semifinal opener, the Sonics were embarrassingly exposed as the San Antonio Spurs claimed a 103-81 win last night. It was the team's worst playoff defeat since a 23-point loss to San Antonio in 2002.
The lopsided defeat, which gave San Antonio a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, the Sonics can handle. Losing Allen and Radmanovic for a long stretch, however, would likely mean an early end to the series.
When asked afterward what the Sonics are like without Allen, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich smiled as he stretched his arms wide.
"Maybe from one end of the spectrum to the other," he said. "He means to them what Tim [Duncan] means to us or Steve Nash means to Phoenix or Kevin Garnett means to Minnesota. He's huge. He makes your whole team more confident."
Without two of their top three scorers from the regular season, the Sonics were overwhelmed and undermanned against a debilitating Spurs defense that handcuffed Luke Ridnour and frustrated Rashard Lewis to the point where all he could do was bicker with officials and plead for fouls that were never called.
Missing Allen, who left the game with 7:59 remaining in the second quarter and never returned, meant losing not only their leading scorer, but the one player who gave the Sonics hope against the playoff-tested Spurs.
"They don't need me to win, we can still beat this team, but I know that I've got to come back as soon as I can," Allen said last night while walking slowly to the team bus. "It's stiff right now. [Today] I've got to just stay off of it and see what that does."
Allen took control offensively early and scored eight of Seattle's first 14 points, while eluding his nemesis, San Antonio forward Bruce Bowen. Bowen's sticky defense helped create a collision beneath the basket that left Allen hobbling.
Several minutes after the game, the Sonics guard was still seething about the events that led to his injury.
"Same old Bruce," Allen said. "I got caught on his foot and it just turned. He's good for that. He's done that before."
Bowen's take on the pivotal play: "I knew he was coming down full speed. He tried to draw the foul. I was trying to get out of the way. ... I'm not disappointed when somebody goes out. The game doesn't stop. You still have to play."
Allen, who finished with eight points on 4-for-7 shooting, received X-rays, which didn't reveal any serious damage. He jogged outside the locker room at halftime, but trainers advised him not to return.
His status for Game 2 tomorrow is questionable.
Radmanovic, however, isn't likely to play tomorrow and may not play again, depending on how long the series lasts. He left the locker room on crutches and didn't speak to reporters.
"Vlade's injury is very serious," Allen said. "I think he might be out the next game. I don't know what my status is, but a day will do me good. I've always snapped back pretty quick. It's the playoffs, so I'm not looking to sit out unless I absolutely have to."
The injury occurred near the three-point line at the Spurs' end of the floor as he defended Brent Barry. The Spurs guard shifted quickly to his left, and as Radmanovic ran and tried to stop in position, his ankle buckled 8:26 before halftime.
He writhed on the court for several seconds, clutching his ankle, before Jerome James and Danny Fortson carried him to the locker room.
Twenty-seven seconds later, the Sonics lost Allen. A few minutes after that, they lost their composure, as McMillan was accessed a technical with 3:05 left in the quarter. Then they lost their hope, as they fell behind 58-28 just before halftime.
"Seeing them go out like that messed up the mental flow for us," Fortson said. "Those guys are very important, especially Ray. And not to have him out there was pretty tough for us to recover from."
The flurry of misfortune buried the Sonics, who finished the game with several deep reserves making their 2005 playoff debuts. The unorthodox lineup, led by Lewis' 19 points and Antonio Daniels' 15, was unable to stop San Antonio's Tony Parker and Duncan, who combined for almost half of the Spurs' points.
Parker blew past Ridnour whenever he wanted, and Daniels also failed to slow the Spurs guard, who finished with 29 points on 11-for-18 shooting.
Spurs reserve Glenn Robinson added 16 points, Barry had 11 and Manu Ginobili 10.
Duncan wasn't as dominant as in years past while recovering from a late-season ankle injury, but he finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
The second half was a blur of fast-break dunks for the Spurs, who shot 50.7 percent from the field and dominated the boards 46-31. Chants of "overrated" and "sweep" echoed through the building.
"It's a seven-game series," Daniels said. "A series is never won after one game, regardless of how bad you played or how well they played. We still have to come back here [tomorrow] and play. And they still have to come to Seattle and play."
