2001-2002 SOMIBA PLAYOFF GAME RECAPS
FINALS
WALNUT CREEK at LAKE K
Game 1
A very tight and even first period with WAL up by two as Payton misses an
open outside shot to end the period. Payton started the game with a dazzler
on the first play after the jump ball. But a Wesley three pointer later
tied the game at 4-4. There were nine lead changes and five ties in the
first period. Neither team led by more than three points. Wesley got a
basket and a foul to give WAL a 11-10 lead. Payton answered with a three
pointer. Cato had a block reading on Shaq but couldn't get up high enough
for a Lake K 15-13 lead. But Cato made up for that by penetrating on the
next possession and drawing the second foul on Payton with 7:57 left in the
period. Lake K was able to take their biggest lead of 19-16. Shaq made to
FT's to make it 21-18, but WAL ripped off six points in a row for their
biggest lead of 24-21. And during this stretch, WAL also had two 24 second
violations, otherwise they might have builot a little lead. Vaughn ended
the streak with a dazzler. Lake K went ahead 25-24, but Christie knocked
down a three vs. Close with Payton on him for a 27-25 lead. Lake K tied it
at 27-27 before WAL scored the last basket of the period and a 29-27 lead
after one period.
Lake K had two dazzlers in the first, but none on the FB. WAL had a 2-1
edge in offensive team rebounds. And Lake K was called for both charges in
the opening period. Both teams shot 52% from the field. WAL was 2-3 from
downtown to Lake K's 1-3. WAL made 5 of 9 FT's to Lake K's 4 for 4. Both
teams had 9 rebounds, but Lake K committed 7 fouls and 4 turnovers to only 2
fouls and 1 turnover for WAL. Webber led everyone with 12 points. Wesley
added 6 points in just 6 minutes. Payton had 9 points and 4 assists and
Shaq 8 points and 4 rebounds.
Quarter # 2 is now set to begin.
More back and forth play like two heavyweights going toe to toe without
letting up. Webber scored to open the period for a 31-27 lead. Carter got
a steal and basket and a foul, but missed the FT to make it 33-31. Lake K
did tie the game at 35-35, but Webber scored two quick baskets to restore
the four point lead. He already had 20 points now with 8:27 to go in the
half. Christie knocked down another three (Sacramento is wondering where
that was) for a WAL 7-0 run and 42-35 lead. But the run ended on an
Ostertag offensive rebound and stick back. This triggered an 8-0 run for
Lake K to give them the lead 43-42. There were six more lead changes in the
half and 5 more ties. Shaq made two more FT's to go 6 for 6 in the half!!
Lake K used the press for four minutes in the second. It produced two
turnovers, but also led to a Christie FB basket and a foul on Shaq (his
second). Lake K took their biggest lead of the game at 52-48. They then
missed a shot and two consecutive offensive rebounds missing a chance for a
6 point lead. WAL responded with the next six points and a 54-52 lead.
Lake K tied the game at 54-54 and 56-56. Webber was doing whatever he
wanted when Augmon or J. Williams were guarding him, but with Carter on him,
Carter blocked his shot and Payton got a FB dazzler (only his second dazzler
of the half and Lake K's only dazzler of the second period). Payton came
right back with a steal and score to give Lake K a four point lead again
60-56. But Webber came right back with another inside score to finish the
half with 28 points on 12 of 17 FG's.
Lake K now had a 55% to 51% FG edge. Both teams made 11 FT's but WAL
missed two more than Lake K. Lake K had a slight 20 to 18 edge in rebounds.
WAL was 3 for 7 from downtwon to Lake K;s 1 for 6. After Webber's 28
points, WAL's next highest was Christie's 10 points. Wesley had 8 points
now. Payton and Carter each had 17 points and 6 assists. Shaq had 16
points and 7 rebounds.
Quarter # 3 is set to begin. WAL gets the ball first.
Lake K is trying to pull away in the second half. WAL scored on the opening
possession of the third to tie the game at 60-60. Payton hit a three but
Wesley answered right back with a three to tie the game at 63-63. Lake K
scored the next seven points to take charge of the lead for good in the
period. It started with a Payton FB dazzler. Then Augmon blocked Webber,
but Patterson blocked Payton on the FB shot. But Lake K still scored on
that possession, and Shaq closed the run with a hoop and some harm on an
offensive rebound to make it 70-63. Ostertag drew a foul on Webber on an
inside shot and made both FT's to make it 72-65. Wesley sank another three
pointer to cut the lead to four at 74-70. With 6:29 to go in the period,
Lake K only led 78-72. I then chose to rest Payton and Shaq for the next
four minutes so they would be good to go the rest of the way. Lake K
outscored WAL 11-7 in these four minutes. It started with Augmon once again
blocking Webber's shot and Carter scoring on the FB. Vaughn then got a FB
dazzler to make it 82-73, Lake K's biggest lead to that point. WAL scored
four straight points before Carter stepped back for a three pointer to make
it 85-77. Vaughn then got another FB dazzler to make it 87-77, Lake K's
first double digit lead of the game. The ten point lead was matched at
89-79, 91-81, 94-84, and 96-86. Vaughn was bailed out on a loose ball foul
to give him two FT's making the score 98-86 with 23 seconds left. WAL held
for last shot but missed the shot to end the period.
Lake K is now leading in FG shooting 57% to 52%. WAL is 5 for 10 from
downtown while Lake K is 3 for 9. Lake K now has a big edge at the line
making 23 of 26 FT's to WAL's 13 of 18. Shaq is an amazing 9 for 9 from the
line. Lake K has a 31 to 23 rebounding lead. Both teams have 4 steals and
7 turnovers. But Lake K leads 8 to 3 in blocks. Both teams have two
offensive team rebounds, and both have one loose ball foul. Lake K still
has the only two charges of the game. But Lake K had four dazzlers in the
third quarter for a 7-0 edge in that category. Webber is still the leading
scorer with 32 points, but only 4 in the third. Wesley has 17 and Christie
15. Patterson only has 7. The big three for lake K are all doing great.
Shaq has 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Carter has 26 points and 7
assists. Payton 23 points and 9 assists.
It's 4th quarter time. Lake K gets the ball first. I am taking off the FB
to avoid turnovers and quick shots. I still have 8 minutes of Press left if
needed but won't use it unless I fall behind since I don't want to get in
the penalty and let WAL score with the clock stopped.
Lake K was definitely the benefactor of the majority of the luck in this
game. Lake K turned it over to start the 4th and Webber made 1 of 2 FT's on
the other end to make it 98-87, but WAL would get no closer. WIth the score
100-89, Lake K basically put the game away with an 8-0 run and a 19 point
lead, their biggest lead of the game. WAL went into the press with seven
minutes left but it had little effect either way. WAL cut the lead to 12
twice at 110-98 and 112-100. Shaq got a basket and a foul with 4:47 to go
to make it 114-100. It was his first missed FT of the game. Lake K ended
up winning by 15.
Lake K shot 57% overall for the game to WAL's 51%. Both teams were 0 for 1
from downtown in the 4th quarter. Surprising that the computer didn't heave
a bunch of three's like it usually does when behind. Lake K maintained the
big edge at the line 28 of 34 to 17 of 25. Lake K also won the rebounding
battle 39 to 33. And they led in assists 35 to 26. Lake K did not have any
dazzlers in the 4th quater. 5 of the 6 loose ball fouls were called on WAL.
There were only 3 charges called in the game, and each team had one
technical foul.
I let Webber have his way and tried to stop other threats which seemed to
work, but Webber went off for a game high 47 points, 15 in the 4th. He
added 6 rebounds and 8 assists (no dazzlers). Wesley had 18 points in only
24 minutes with Payton guarding him. Christie added 15 points and Patterson
was contained to 11 points thanks to some double teaming whenever he was
inside. Shaq led Lake K with 32 points and 14 rebounds. Payton and Carter
were huge with 28 points apiece. Payton had a game high 11 assists and
Carter had 9 assists. Lake K 125 Walnut Creek 110.
This is Lake K's sixth playoff series in the last two seasons. They have
yet to win the first two games (and all home games) in any of those series.
Game 2 will be their chance to finally end this drought and start a series
up 2-0 instead of 1-1 heading on the road.
Game 2
WAL 100 LAK 94
Low scoring first period as WAL shoots 30% and Lake K shoots 50% but only
leads by one. WAL only made one three pointer but was 6 for 9 from the line
to Lake K's 0 for 2. WAL had the rebounding edge 15 to 11. A Wesley three
pointer made the score 8-2 WAL. He then got a steal but missed the shot.
Lake K came back to tie the game at 8-8. With 6:29 to go in the 1st, WAL
led 10-8. Down 12-8, Lake K scored the next 8 points for a 16-12 lead.
Payton got his 2nd foul with 3:48 left. WAL had an unusual possession where
they got three straight replays but it was not a 24 second violation as
usual. Instead they missed a three pointer but got the offensive rebound
and took anther replay. Then another missed shot led to an offensive
rebound and score. That possession wasted a lot of time. The game was tied
at 16-16 before Lake K restored their four point lead at 20-16 on a Vaughn
FB dazzler (Lake K's only dazzler of the period). With two minutes left
Sabonis got his second foul and the computer brought Spencer back in. It
also put Foster inside and left Patterson outside. But WAL lucked out
because Spencer drew a foul and made 1 of 2 FT's to make it 20-17. And with
two seconds left, Spencer got a basket and a foul (missed the FT) to make it
20-19 after one period.
Second period is about to begin with Webber, Shaq, Carter, and Payton all
with the rest in already for the half. Lake K gets the ball first.
Turnovers hurt WAL in the second period. Payton opened the period with a
three ball in the corner pocket for a 23-19 lead. WAL tied the game at
23-23, but Lake K scored 8 in a row again thanks to a couple of steals. WAL
cut the lead to five at 32-27, but then Shaq went postal on WAL. First he
scored inside when Sabonis was playing safe and backed away for an easy
basket (Sabonis was only in because Spencer was sucking for air and the
computer pulled him because of fatique). Then Shaq got three straight
basket's and a foul to make the score 41-27, a 9-0 run by Lake K and 18-4
run overall since the 23-23 tie. Wesley sank another three ball to make it
43-32, but Lake K built their biggest lead of the half at 48-32 late in the
half. WAL made a late surge scoring the final six points of the half (and
could have made it an 8 point game but Webber missed an inside shot). Lake
K is up by ten at the half.
Lake K is still holding a big edge in FG shooting 51% to 39% (and still
only 1 dazzler in the game for Lake K). Both teams made 2 three pointers in
the half. WAL was 8 for 11 from the line (but only 2 for 2 in the second
period). Lake K was only 4 for 10 FT's mostly because Shaq had already
missed 5 FT's (to balance out his incredible foul shooting in Game 1). WAL
was owning the offensive glass for a 27 to 17 overall rebounding edge. WAL
only got 6 assists in the half but Lake K only had 11. WAL had a 2 to 1
lead in turnovers with 14 first half turnovers to only 7 for Lake K. Shaq
was now the leading scorer with 12 of his 18 points coming in the second
period. Payton and Webber each had 9 points. Webber was 3 for 11 FG's with
no double teaming in 21 minutes of play. Wesley had 8 points, Carter 7, and
Patterson 6.
Third period is set to begin with Lake K getting the ball first. Just like
Game # 1, no one on either team has more than 2 fouls in the first half.
WAL turns around the game with dominating play in the third. It started
good for Lake K with a Shaq offensive rebound to make it 50-38 and a Webber
charge with 11:23 to go. But then Patterson scored on an offensive rebound
and Wesley scored on a steal to cut the lead to nine at 51-42. Wesley
drained another three to make it 53-45. Shaq got yet another hoop and some
harm for a 56-45 LAK lead with 9:56 to go. But Spencer answered with a hoop
and some harm of his own on an offensive rebound giving Shaq his 3rd foul
with 8:59 to go and cutting the lead to 58-50. Another Wesley three made it
58-53. With 6:59 to go WAL only trailed 60-57. They scored 19 points in
the first five minutes of the 3rd period (which matched both their 1st and
second period totals!). EJ missed a block reading on Shaq to make it 64-59
with 6:15 to go. Again I rested Shaq and Payton for the next four minutes,
but Lake K was able to stay even with WAL over this time. Twice WAL could
have cut the lead to one. After Webber hit two inside shots to make it
68-65, Christie got a steal but was called for a charge (this made it 5 to 1
in charges called on WAL). Later Webber missed inside with the same score,
and J. Williams scored on the FB with 2:28 left and Lake K up 70-65. Now
Webber sat for the final two minutes, but WAL outscored Lake K 8-2 during
this two minutes to gain the lead for the first time since early in thew
first. Down 73-72, Shaq got the last shot of the period, but was called for
a charge, his 4th foul.
The FG edge for Lake K has decresed a lot now leading 53% to 47%. WAL made
two three pointers in the 3rd and Lake K did not make any. WAL was 13 of 18
from the line to Lake K's woeful 8 for 19. WAL was almost doubling Lake K
in rebounds 40 to 22. Lake K only led in assists 16 to 14 and still only
had one dazzler (none by Payton). The turnovers are now only 17 to 12 WAL.
But WAL leads in blocks 6 to 5. Shaq is still the leading scorer with 29
points. Wesley is leading WAL with 18 points while Webber has 17. Payton
and Carter are being held in check with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Patterson and Sabonis also each have 10 points.
Entering the 4th quarter, WAL will get the ball first. This could be the
turning point of the series. Can Lake K take a commanding 2-0 lead which
they just can't seem to do in a playoff series, or will WAL bounce back from
a poor first half to seize the momentum going home for three games? The
next email will have the final results.
Wesley started the 4th period with a hoop and some harm to make it 76-72. On the
next WAL possession, Wesley got blocked by Ostertag, and this led to a Payton FB dazzler,
his first of the game. But WAL scored the next four points for their biggest lead of the
game at 80-74. Payton then got back to back FB dazzlers to make it 89-78. Lake K tied
the game at 80-80, and Payton got a regular dazzler to make it 82-80 LAK with 6:20 left.
Payton got four dazzlers in the six minutes of the 4th after none in the first three
quarters (and none the rest of the game). Then Spencer got an offensive rebound and drew
the 5th foul on Shaq. Spencer then made the first FT, missed the second, got his own
rebound, and got a basket and a foul. He then missed the FT again, and Webber got the
rebound but missed the shot. Still WAL had regained the lead 83-82. Shaq then made 2
FT's, and after a Webber turnover, Funderburke scored on a switch on Webber for a 86-83
LAK lead. But Christie rained in a three to tie the game. The game was also tied at
88-88, 90-90, and 92-92. With 3:24 to go, Webber missed but Patterson got the offensive
rebound and drew a foul, making 1 of 2 FT's. Payton scored outside and Webber scored
inside to keep the lead switching hands. With 2:35 left, Spencer was called for a loose
ball foul with WAL up 95-94. But it was only WAL's second team foul. WAL then committed
two straight reach in fouls, but were still not in the penalty. Shaq then missed and
Webber scored on the other end for a 97-94 lead. Payton them missed a three pointer.
Ostertag blocked a shot on the other end, but was called for a loose ball foul on the
rebound with 38 seconds left. EJ missed both FT's. Shaq got the rebound, but Lake K was
not given a chance to call timeout or do anything. Instead a turnover reading occurred
and only 12 seconds remained. Somehow that took 26 seconds. Then I was able to foul
intentionally until just 3 seconds remained. Wesley made the first, missed the second,
but Patterson was there again for another offensive rebound off a missed FT and scored
to finish the scoring. Unrealistic ending as WAL would probably not have anyone going
for rebounds with just 3 seconds left and a four point lead. And even if they got the
rebound, they probably wouldn;t look to score. Plus in the NBA with 38 seconds left,
each team would get numerous possessions where here we each got only one.
Lake K out shot WAL 55% to 44%. WAL took 9 more FT's than Lake K and made all 9 of
them. And they had a 53 to 32 rebounding edge. The turnovers evened out with WAL ahead
19 to 18 in the end. Webber was WAL's leading scorer with 25 points and 8 rebounds.
Wesley outscored Payton in less minutes 22 to 17, though Payton had 10 assists with 4
dazzlers. Patterson had 13 points and 8 rebounds. J. Williams had 12 points but only
4 rebounds. Spencer had 11 points in 19 minutes. Carter only had 10 points.
Once again Lake K cannot close the deal and win the first two games of a
playoff series for the 6th straight time. WAL had more offensive rebounds
than defensive and almost more offensive rebounds than Lake K had total
rebounds. The computer game has always given up too many offensive rebounds
off missed FT's, and the end of games always go too quickly compared to the
NBA. Those two factors helped WAL come from behind after trailing by 16 in
the first half and take Game 2. Lake K must continue their good road play
which has always bailed them out for the last five playoff series. My team
refuses to take the easy road in a playoff series. We must like adversary
and doing things the hard way (much like the Lakers in the NBA). I will
send the 4th quarter summary and result files in a little while.
Game 3
Lake K started on fire and had a 22-12 lead just over halfway through the 1st
quarter but the game settled into a WAL-style grind it out game the rest of
the way. Christie capped a 13-2 run with a 3 to end the first quarter and I
led 29-26 as you scored only 4 points in the last 5:36 of the quarter. At
this point Shaq had 7 points while a bunch of players for both teams had
5 or 6 points each.
The 2nd quarter started off with both teams cold and I held a 35-30 lead
halfway but we both started hitting shots and trading baskets. I led 49-47
at the half. Shaq had 13 points, V.Carter had 12, and Jerome Williams had
11 points for you while Patterson and Bohannon led my team with 10 each
as Webber was not doing much.
You took charge early in the 3rd quarter and it looked like with a 60-55 lead
you were on a roll but Payton picked up his 4th foul on a loose ball foul and
sat for the rest of the quarter and Patterson and Webber grinded out a few
hoops and helping me to a 10-1 run. You answered with a run and you led
after 3 quarters 73-71. Vince had 24 points while Shaq had 21. Patterson
led my team with 20 points after 3 quarters. Webber had 3 offensive fouls
in the first half of the quarter but managed to stay out of further trouble with
his 4 fouls at this point.
In the 4th quarter both teams' shooting was off and we kept trading 4-0 or 6-0
brief runs. With 8:27 remaining you were ahead 82-78 but Patterson kept
working inside and tied the score on two consecutive possessions. With
Christie a bit tired I took him out for Russell to guard Payton as I had an 89-88
lead with 3:35 but consecutive non-shooting fouls by Bohannon and then by
Russell put Payton at the line where he hit both free throws. A bit later
Webber scored to give me a 91-90 lead with 2:36 to go.
After another Je.Williams passing turnover on his card (the computer game
does not assign passing turnovers correctly) and a Carter miss plus two
more Webber misses you had the ball on a timeout with about 50 seconds
remaining and down still 91-90. You ran a play for Shaq but shoving for
position Sabonis was called for a foul which put Shaq at the line. Down by
1 with 46 seconds to go Shaq missed both free throws and I grabbed the
rebound. I called timeout and ran a play for Webber and after more shoving
Ostertag was called for a foul. Webber made the first free throw but missed
the second and you grabbed the rebound with about 30 seconds to go. The
computer did not call a timeout and Patterson made a steal on his card and
I was able to run the clock down to 1 before Je.Williams finally fouled Bohannon
who made both free throws. I ended up winning a thriller 94-90.
Shaq and Patterson led all scorers with 28 each on similar field goal shooting
while V.Carter had 26 points. Shaq also added 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
Webber had only 18 points on 7-19 shooting. Payton had only 10 points,
4 rebounds, and 4 assists (I think 2 were dazzlers).
Against my slowdown offense you had 14 steals and most of those were on
your cards leading to fastbreak shots. Turnovers somehow ended up even
at 17, though. I had the edge on the glass 42-34 and we each made 49%
of our field goals. You shot 35 free throw attempts to my 23. Your players
hit 15-22 except for Shaq, and this is the stat which jumps out, who hit
only 2-13 on his free throws.
The old warrior Sabonis made it seem as though his foul on Shaq late in the
game was an accident (and his complaining about it may have bought the
foul against Ostertag on the next play) but Sabonis avoided the subject in
the press room afterwards saying only that he is enjoying his last few
somiba games of his career.
Game 4
Both teams started hot again as I led 19-17 halfway through the first quarter
with Webber scoring 12 and V.Carter scoring 9. You kept turning the ball
over the rest of the quarter, though, and I led 31-25 after 1 quarter. We
both shot over 60% in the quarter but you had 8 first quarter turnovers.
In the second quarter I went on an 11-0 run with Webber scoring 7 of those
and led 48-31. With 12 seconds left in the quarter Sabonis scored and
then Shaq passed up an inside shot with 5 seconds to go electing to hold
for the last shot but Patterson stole the ball and scored on the other end to
give me a 60-40 halftime lead. Webber had 19 at this point while Vince had
16. We were both shooting in the upper 50%'s at this point.
In the first half of the third quarter you went ice cold and I had a 76-49 lead
with 4 minutes to go in the quarter but you finished the quarter on a 13-2
run. I led 80-64 after 3 quarters.
I picked up 5 non-shooting fouls in the first 3 minutes of the fourth quarter
and while complaining to the refs I missed shot after shot. With 4:43 to
go I led 86-80 scoring only 26 points in the 19 minutes of the half so far.
At this point Christie had a shot against Vince and I took a sort of enforced
break (my wife was wrapping a present and it was too distracting). Christie
made the penetration shot and Vince missed a 3 on the other end but Webber
missed and Vince earned a fastbreak basket.
Webber then made a shot to give me a lead 90-82 with 3:30 to go and you
missed shot after shot but kept getting your own rebound and finally Vince
slammed home a putback attempt. Webber then made another shot and
after we both missed shots Webber putback a rebound attempt to make
it 94-84 with 2:34 to go. I ended up winning 99-87.
Webber had 38 points on 15-20 shooting while Vince had 26 points on 11-27.
Payton added 13 points, 12 assists (lots of dazzlers), and 7 rebounds while
Shaq was held to 18 points on 9-15 shooting and only 4 rebounds. You shot
45% to my 52% and you were only 5-9 on free throws not making your first
free throw until the fourth quarter (I was 15-21 at the line). You had a 40-39
rebound edge but you committed 22 turnovers to my 15. I had 10 blocks (led
by Sabonis' 4) to your 2. You were 4-15 on 3's while I was 2-11.
Game 5
This game started off with a few blocked shots and lots of misses but
Webber and Patterson calmed things down and I led 16-13 halfway
through the first period. You scored only 4 points in the next 4
minutes while I got hot and I led 31-23 after 1. Patterson started
since he had the opportunity to post up J.Vaughn and Patterson
had 12 first quarter points though only 3 of those were against
Vaughn directly. You committed 11 fouls in the first quarter but
none of your 3 stars had to sit extra time.
At the start of the 2nd quarter Webber went to work taking Ostertag
to the basket on almost every possession and I led 46-30 a bit less
than halfway through the quarter but your balanced attack led an 11-2
run which was broken by a Foster 3 against the sag. Up 51-45 I went
on a 10-2 run as Patterson came back in the game to make a bunch
of free throws and I led 61-49 at the half.
At this point Patterson had 20 points and Webber had 18. Vince had
success in the second quarter on the fastbreak (including a couple of
steals on his card) and had 16 points at halftime. Payton and Shaq
combined for 15 points in the half. Rebounding was close to even but
you had a few more turnovers. I shot about 53% to your 48% (approx)
in the first half.
The third quarter started with a technical on me but Patterson resumed
his dominance inside this time taking full advantage of Vaughn. I led
76-60 a bit past halfway in the quarter but more of your balanced offense
led a 14-4 run with McPherson and Shaq contributing. After a brief rest
Patterson came back to score my last 4 points in the quarter helping me
hold onto an 84-76 lead after 3 quarters.
In the first half of the quarter Webber went to work again penetrating on
Ostertag and I led 95-81 with 8:49 remaining but suddenly for a stretch
of about 2:30 absolutely nothing went right for me and everything went
right for you. It was only 2:30 but in that time Augmon scored 8 points
and you went on a 12-0 run and I held onto a 95-93 lead with 6:23 to
go. It was the usual but not frequent in this series LAK blitz.
I had decided before the playoffs that Bryon Russell's card was not very
good and I'd play him as little as possible. I also decided that instead
of taking a penetration shot against close he would just throw up a 3
and take his chances with that. I even decided that he would take 3's
instead of open shots except in certain circumstances.
During your 12-0 run Russell missed 2 3-pointers and with a bit over 6:00
remaining I had another choice of open penetration or 3. I took another
3 and was lucky enough to make it. Shaq scored on the other end to
make it 98-95 but then another strange thing began to happen.
Up to this point the rebounding was even. It was so even that we each
had the same number of offensive rebounds as defensive rebounds. In
other words, all rebounds were up for grabs and there were no gimmies.
After the 6:00 mark, though, I started cleaning the defensive glass and
with Patterson scoring inside against Payton (Vince at SG was guarding
Christie at PG as the computer regularly switched in this case) I went on
an 8-0 run to lead 106-95 with 3:51 to go. Payton and Vince scored 7
points in the next minute-and-a-half but Patterson kept on scoring and
I led 110-102 with 2:12 to go. Payton then had a 3 attempt but he missed
and I grabbed the rebound to pretty much seal the win. I ended up winning
116-104.
Your lineup modifications left me with a difficult decision. I wanted Webber
at SF as much as possible to take advantage of the rebounding (with
Popeye, Foster, or Cato at PF) but that meant that he'd have to guard
Vince for awhile. The computer has Vince take a decent number of 3's
so there was no way I was going to play anything but close on him and
since the computer always passes to Vince every single chance it gets
(and doesn't pass to Shaq or Payton) that meant that Vince would get
lots of penetration shots against Webber's close defense and this was
a recipe for disaster for me. The rebounding advantage didn't seem very
effective as you had 19 offensive rebounds but in a big turnaround the
flow of the game when you had the ball was not "pass to any rated
shooter" but instead the ball was spread around and Vince had only
2 or 3 penetration attempts against Webber. Webber didn't take
advantage of posting Vince on the other end as Patterson posting
Vaughn during these times was my focus. In any case this is one
way in which I was very lucky.
I was also lucky in not only being able to feed Patterson a whole lot when
he was posting Vaughn or McPherson but also being able to feed Webber
a whole bunch when he was playing PF against Ostertag. I think Webber
made 7 out of about 9 penetration shots plus drew a few fouls when guarded
by Ostertag.
With all of your PF's in bigtime foul trouble the computer was forced to leave
in players at unexpected time.
Vince made 7-15 shots including 3-4 on 3's for a total of 22 points. Payton
added 19 points and 8 assists (including about 5 dazzlers) but was only
8-22 from the field. Shaq was only 7-17 from the field as Ervin Johnson
blocked shot after shot, Shaq ended up with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Shaq was only 2-11 from the line in clearly a huge stat of the night.
After going 10-12 from the line in game 1 and 7-14 in game 2 Shaq made
an amazing 4-25 in the 3 road games.
Patterson led all scorers with a ridiculous 41 points on 14-20 from the field
and 13-19 from the line. Webber had 36 points on 15-25 shooting. Popeye
and J.Foster combined for 16 rebounds in 30 minutes while Wesley contributed
with 10 assists and 3-5 shooting on 3's.
I led the rebounding 46-41 and you had 16 turnovers to my 12. I had 13 blocks
to your 7 with Ervin Johnson swatting 6 of those.
I didn't think anyone could knock off your powerhouse team. When I looked
at the matchups, though, and with my bogus guys Spencer helping in my
road win and Bohannon in my close home win I knew I had a chance albeit
not a huge chance. My big offensive rebounding helped slow down your
great fastbreak and from there most of the series was slowdown grind it
out. I knew that if the series went back to Lake K I wouldn't have that
much of a chance as I couldn't remotely dictate matchups there and you
could feed Shaq instead of Vince, if you wanted. I was definitely lucky to
win all 3 of my home games even considering the matchups.
ROUND 2
PORTLAND at LAKE K
Game 1
Lake K 104 Portland 83
A close first half sees Lake K pull away in the second half. Portland
scored 32 points in the first period, but only got 32 in the second half as
the Lake K defense was very good except against Wallace and Bowen.
There were six lead changes and three ties in the first period. Portland
led 11-4 and 14-6 early in the game thanks to Bowen draining from three
point land twice vs. CLOSE defense. But a 7-0 Lake K run cut the lead to
one. Lake K twice had a six point lead in the first at 30-24 and 33-27.
After one period, Lake K led 35-32 shooting a sizzling 65% while Portland
shot 50%. Marbury scored 11 points in the first and Wallace had 10 while
Lake K's leader was Carter's 8.
Marbury got his third dazzler early in the second period, but never got
another one the rest of the way! Lake K took the lead for the rest of the
half at 39-38, and matched their six point lead at 46-40. Bowen hit his
third three of the game to make it 46-43, but Lake K reached their biggest
lead of the first half at 50-43. At the half, Lake K only led 54-51.
Wallace was noe the leading scorer with 14 points. Marbury did not score in
the second period. Shaq was Lake K's leader with only 10 points at the
half.
Portland scored the first five points of the third for their last lead of
the game at 56-54. With the game tied at 56-56, Jones got a charge for his
4th foul, and this swung the momentum in Lake K's favor. Vaughn got back to
back dazzlers, and half way through the third period, Lake K led 66-61.
Payton got his 4th foul with four minutes left in the period (also on a
charge), but unlike Portland, Lake K continued to score without him. The
lead grew to 14 after three periods, 79-65, thanks to a 13-2 run. Portland
got outscored 25-14 in the 3rd. Wallace was still the leading scorer with
20 points while Marbury only had 12 to this point. Shaq was leading Lake K
with 16 points while Carter had 14 and Payton 11.
Shaq started the 4th with a hoop and some harm, and Lake K put it on cruise
control from there with the biggest lead coming at 91-67. The final score
was by 21 points. Lake K shot 48% for the game to Portland's 40%. Portland
did not shoot a FT in the 4th, and was only 2 for 3 in the second half.
Portland won the rebounding battle 46 to 44, but doubled Lake K in turnovers
22 to 11.
Wallace did not score in the 4th to finish with 20 and Marbury finished
with 19 points and just 4 assists. Shaq was the game high scorer with 10 of
his 26 points coming in the 4th. Payton added 22 points and Carter had 15.
I will play Game 2 Friday night.
Game 2
Portland 120 Lake K 114
For the fifth straight playoff series in the past two seasons, Lake K
splits the first two home games. They have yet to start a series up 2-0.
Lake K blew a double digit half time lead and was thoroughly outplayed in
the second half as Portland scored 70 points in the second half after only
32 in Game 1, more than double.
Lake K led for most of the first period going on a 7-0 run for a 21-15
lead. Wallace hit from downtown to make it 21-19, but a J. Williams three
pointer made it 30-21 after one period. Lake K had an 18-8 edge in rebounds
in the first. Carter scored 10 to lead all scorers while Bowen, who plays
like an All-Star against us, led Portland with 6. Wallace and Murbury
combined for 24 minutes in the first and only scored 7 combined points in
all those minutes.
Lake K was hit by a lightning quick 10-0 run less than two minutes into the
second period for a 31-30 Portland lead. But that was Portland's only lead
of the second period. Another 7-0 Lake K run gave them a 49-40 lead. Bowen
drained yet another three to make it 49-44, but Lake K built their biggest
lead of the game at the half of 11 at 61-50. Both teams were shooting
around 50% in the half. Lake K had a 33 to 15 rebound edge. Marbury scored
10 in the second to lead his team with 14 points. Bowen had 9 now while
Wallace only had 6. Carter scored 18 for Lake K with Shaq right behind him
with 17.
Portland got an early 7-0 run in the 3rd period to get within 4 at 63-59.
They came all the way back and took the lead at 71-69 with a Wallace basket
and a foul. Back to back Vaughn dazzlers tied the game at 73-73 with 6:22
to go in the third. Pack then nailed a three for Portland's biggest lead to
date of 76-73. Lake K scored the next 4, but Wallace knocked down another
three pointer. Lake K then went on an 8-0 run to make it 85-79. Richardson
got a basket and a foul posting up Bowen for an 88-82 lead. But a Pack
dazzler closed the third with Portland only down 88-86. Portland was out
shooting Lake K 56% to 46%. Lake K still had a big rebounding edge 44 to
24, but Portland led 9-0 in blocks. Marbury now had 21 points and Wallace
17. Bowen added 15. Shaq was the leading scorer with 25 points while
Carter had 24.
The first hald of the 4th period was back and forth like a tennis match
with no one leading by more than two. With 6:25 to go, Lake K led 97-96,
but it would be their last lead of the game. Potland scored the next five
including a three point play by Wallace where he missed a FT, got his own
rebound, and scored. Portland reached their biggest lead of the game at
110-103. JW answered with his second three of the game, but his were the
only ones Lake K got. With 2:27 to go Lake K was down 110-108. Bowen then
stepped uo again hitting an outside shot. Kandi missed a block reading that
made the score 112-110 with 2:01 to go. But a Wallace offensive rebound
pushed the lead back to 6 at 116-110. McPherson scored on an offensive
rebound with 1:06 to go. Marbury missed a three, and Carter scored a FB
hoop to make it 116-114 with 46 seconds left. Marbury then scored on
penetration, and Jones got a steal leaving only 12 seconds left, and Lake K
did not score again.
Portland out shot Lake K 56% to 44%. Portland made 21 of 23 FT's in the
second half. Lake K got out rebounded in Game 1 and won, but then dominated
the rebounds 59 to 34 in Game 2 and lost. Lake K had more offensive
rebounds than defensive rebounds, and almost more offensive rebounds than
Portland's total rebounds. Shaq alone had 12 offensive rebounds (SOMIBA
record?). But Portland made up for that with a 13-0 edge in blocks.
Wallace scored 26 of his team high 32 points in the second half. Marbury
added 25 points. Bowen did not play great defense, but was unstopable on
offense with 17 points, only missing two shots. LaFrentz had a double
double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. For Lake K, Shaq was a monster with
38 points and 18 rebounds, and was decent from the FT line. Carter added 28
points and 10 rebounds. Payton hurt us with 5 of 22 FG's and not being able
to stop Marbury from two point land.
Game 3
Lake K 101 Portland 123
The upstart Portland Centurions have defeated the powerhouse Lake. K. team
for only the second time in franchise history (including all regular season
tilts as well). The important fact is that both Portland victories have
arrived during the playoffs, in which Portland now leads the series 2-1.
Portland surprisingly led game three from start to finish. The first
quarter ended with Portland leading 31-20. The quarter was a microcosm of
the game as Portland shot 4/8 from the 3 pt stripe and held their own on the
boards with a slight advantage of 11 rebounds to 10. Portland was led by
Bruce Bowen, who opened the game up with his 3pt shooting and finishing the
1st quarter with 8 points. Lake K was led in the first by, no surprise,
Shaq, who muscled his way for 6 points.
The Second quarter followed much of the same patterns, Portland extending
their lead to 11 at one point, until a viscous press by Lake K made turned
the game into a 7 point contest. Portland pulled away just before the half
to extend their lead to 12 points. The Second quarter saw Vince Carter come
alive (he was guarded by Turkoglu at this point...). Carter finished the
first half with 16 points to lead Lake K. Portland only went 1/6 from trey
land, but still managed to keep their rebounding edge 24-23.
The third quarter was a see-saw affair with both teams making runs. Lake K
ended the quarter 4/13 from the 3 point stripe. Payton took over the
scoring duties for Lake K. The "glove" was abusing Marbury and Jones alike
and finished the quarter with a game leading 20 points. Vince Carter only
scored 4 points in the third and Shaq, held largely in check by Mourning,
Olowokandi & LaFrentz, finished the third with a total of 12 points. For
Portland, Rasheed Wallace came alive during the third quarter. Rasheed's
eyes lit up when he saw Williams and Ceballos guarding him. Rasheed scoring
and a few Marbury dazzlers kept Portland' lead at 10 82-72 going into the
pivotal fourth quarter.
The final period can be called the Derek Fisher quarter. With a lineup of
Fisher, Pack, Turkoglu, Olowokandi & Mourning starting the fourth, Coach
Ainge of Portland was just hoping to keep a lead until he could get Marbury,
Jones, Wallace and Bowen back in. Fisher and Pack had other ideas. Fisher
went 5/5 during the fourth quarter, scoring 17 of his 19 points in the money
quarter. Pack joined the Fisher show, hitting two three's and one lay-up
for an 8 point quarter. When the Portland starters finally made an
appearance with 4 minutes left, the game was practically over.
Final score: Lake K 101 Portland 123
Lake K leading scorers: Carter 26 (10/26); Payton 24 (10/20) with 9 assists;
O'Neal 24 (12/20) and a game high 12 rebounds
Portland leading scorers: Turkoglu 11 points; Jones 11 points (5 steals);
Bowen 13 points; Marbury 19 points and a game high 10 assists; Fisher 19 points;
Wallace 24 points; Mourning, playing in his only appearance in this series, had
7 points and 10 rebounds to go with his tough D on Shaq
Game 4
Lake K 132 Portland 117
The first quarter was the last promising moment for Portland...except that
the Portland coach was an idiot for leaving Wallace in the game with 2
fouls...he picked up number 3 in the first quarter. Score at the end of one
24-24.
Second quarter was the beginning of Lake K dominance. At half, Lake K held
a 30-17 rebound advantage, an advantage that would continue. The leading
scorers for Lake K. at the half were: Carter 14pts, O'Neal 10pts & Payton
11pts. Portland was led by Jones with 14pts and Marbury with 10pts.
Third Periods are often the time for rousing comebacks, and Portland came
within 9 by the end of the third. When the third period ends 100-91 you
know that two high scoring teams are going to work. Lake K was abusing
Portland on the boards with a 47-29 advantage, that would only get worse for
Portland.
The final quarter saw Lake K devour the glass and fastbreak at will. The
game ended with Lake K grabbing 20 offensive rebounds and with a total of
62. Portland managed an anemic 37 rebounds.
Gary Payton was "the man" in this game, falling one rebound short of a
triple double: 28pts, 17 assists, 9 rebounds.
Vince Carter dished out an uncharacteristic 10 assists to go along with his
28 points. Shaq did double damage, 26 points and 14 rebounds.
Portland was led by Marbury with 25 points, Jones with 23 points, Fisher
with 21 points and Wallace with 17.
The series now heads back to Lake K. all tied at two games each.
Game 5
Lake K 117 Portland 112
Yet another nail bitter that could have gone either way. Lake K had a 40
to 10 FT edge, and Wallace fouled out with five minutes left, and Lake K
still barely beat this tough Portland squad. Marbury and Jones were both
very good, and Pack and LaFrentz both stepped up bit time to allow Portland
to come close to victory.
The game started perfect for Lake K as Shaq scored a basket and a foul on
the opening possession giving Wallace his first foul 14 seconds into the
game. Vaughn drained a rare three (he seems to hit them better against
Close than against SAG), and back to back FB hoops gave Lake K an early
16-10 lead. Wallace picked up his second foul with 5:14 to go in the first.
Trailing 21-14, Portland responded in his absence with a quick 6-0 run to
make it 21-20. But after one period, Lake K led 28-22. Lake K out shot
Portland 59% to 45% in the period. Portland went 0 for 6 from downtown and
only shot 2 FT's. Both teams grabbed 11 rebounds, but Portland was only
down 6 despite all this against them. LaFrentz was a machine dominating
Shaq inside throughout the game. They both led their teams with 10 first
period points.
Lake K's biggest lead of the game was 8 at 30-22 early in the second
period. The first dazzler of the game was delivered by Marbury to make it
34-32 Lake K. Portland then tied the game for the first time at 34-34.
Carter and Payton answered this with back to back three pointers, both vs.
CLOSE to make it 40-34. Fir the next four minutes, Marbury and Wallace went
to the bench to rest, but Portland out scored Lake K 14-6 in this stretch
without them.Pack got three dazzlers, and Jones hit two from downtown in
this four minute stretch to help give Portland their first lead of the game.
Three times the lead reached four points at 48-44, 56-52, and 58-54. Lake K
did tie the game at 52-52. Shaq got his third foul with 1:08 left in the
half. At the half Portland led 58-56. Now Portland was shooting a sizzling
hot 60% from the field despite only 2 of 8 three pointers. Lake K was close
with 57%, but was 3 for 4 from downtown. Portland had the rebounding edge
18 to 15, and while Lake K was getting to the line at will (21 to 6), they
only made 11 of those 21 FT's while Portland made all 6 of their's.
LaFrentz and Shaq were still tied for game high honors with 14 points
apiece. Payton had 13 and Carter 9 while Wallace and Jones each had 10.
Shaq only had 1 rebound, and Payton only 1 assist. Lake K had no dazzlers
in the first half while Portland had 5, all in the second period.
Marbury and Jones hit three's early in the third to allow Portland to
stretch the lead to as high as 8 at 68-60, but Bowen and Kandi each picked
up their 4th fouls less than two minutes into third, both on reach in fouls.
Lake K got their first dazzler of the game on the FB to make it 68-64. Then
Payton got a steal and score to make it 68-66. At the halfway point of the
third, Payton got a FB hoop and some harm to make it 72-71, and as
important, giving Wallace his third foul. Pack got two more dazzlers to
give Portland a 80-77 and 82-79 lead, but a Wallace charge gave him # 4 with
2:56 left in the third. Lake K tied the game at 82-82, but Portland was up
88-84 after three periods, again out scoring Lake K while Wallace was on the
bench. Payton was now the leading scorer with 23 points. Jones was leading
Portland with 19 while LaFrentz had 18, Carter 17, Marbury and Shaq 15 each,
and Wallace 14. Portland was still on fire from two point land shooting 61%
FG's overall. Lake K was 55%. Lake K was 15 of 27 from the line to 8 for 8
for Portland. Portland led in rebounds 25 to 24, and in assists 25 to 20.
The 4th period was tight until the very end. Lake K tied the game at
88-88. Carter hit a three for a 91-90 Lake K lead, their first since they
led 42-40. The lead changed hands six more times. Bowen hit his only three
of the game to give Portland the 97-93 lead. But payton answered right back
with a three against CLOSE. Payton then got a FB dazzler to regain the lead
for Lake K 100-99. But after two missed FT's by Jones, Marbury got the
offensive rebound and put POrtland up 103-100. Marbury then missed a FB
shot that could have made it a five point lead, and instead Vaughn scored a
FB basket to make it 103-102 with 5:50 left. On the next possession,
Portland missed and a loose ball foul was called on Wallace, his sixth of
the game. Shaq made both FT's as Portland was in the penalty already giving
Lake K the lead for good at 104-103. After three straight turnovers, Lake K
scored again for a 106-100 lead and 6-0 run. Shaq blocked the next shot,
but Lake K turned it over on the break. Portland finally scored to end
their drought making it 106-105 with 3:42 to go. Shaq got fouled, and
miraculously made both FT's again (4 for 4 in the 4th as 4's were wild).
Payton added a FB dazzler to make it 110-105. Both teams missed on their
next two possessions. Portland then missed again (their hot shooting for
three periods finally cooled off), and a loose ball foul against Portland
allowed Carter to make 1 of 2 FT's making it 111-105 with about two minutes
to go. Marbury got a dazzler, and the computer chose to start intentionally
fouling. Carter made 2 FT's with 1:30 left making it 113-107. An instant
replay saw Marbury get a dazzler and Carter hit two FT's after the
intentional foul. Jones missed a three, and Carter yet again was
intentionall fouled and made both again as Lake K matched their biggest lead
of the game 117-109 with 19 seconds left. Marbury hit a three, but it was
too little, too late, making the final score 117-112.
Despite their cold stretch of shooting during the 4th period, Portland
still shot 58% for the game. Lake K shot 56%. Portland only made one more
three pointer than Lake K but shot 8 more three attempts. Meanwhile Lake K
benefitted big time at the line (with 32 fouls called on Portland and only
12 fouls called on Lake K!) making 26 of 40 FT's to Portland's 8 of 10.
Portland won the rebounding battle 37 to 31. And Portland led in assists 30
to 28, and dazzlers 9 to 3.
Payton was the game high scorer with 28 points but only had 5 assists (3
dazzlers). Carter scored 10 of his 27 points in the 4th thanks to 7-8 FT;s
in the 4th. Carter led Lake K with 8 assists. Shaq had a quiet 25 points,
and only got 4 rebounds (after 18 rebounds in Game 2), but his 4 for 4 FT's
in the 4th were huge. LaFrentz tried to pick up the slack for Wallace
getting a team high 24 points on 11-14 FG's abusing Shaq inside. Jones
added 23 points, and Marbury had 22 points and 6 assists (3 dazzlers).
Wallace only scored 14 points in 26 foul plagued minutes. Pack had 6
dazzlers in his limited playing time. Portland will try to avoid
elimination in Game 6 to force a decisive Game 7.
Game 6
Lake K opened game 6 like the true champions they are. With Payton
distributing and playing tight D on Marbury, Carter driving to the rim and
Shaq stuffing the inside defense of Portland. Within minutes the score
reached 21-6 and it appeared the route was on. Lake K continued their
absolute dominance of the glass by grabbing a ridiculous 21-5 rebound
advantage in the opening quarter. Lake K shot a blazing hot 59% from the
field and Payton and crew applied the shackles to Portland, holding the home
team to 26% shooting in the first quarter. Mercifully, the quarter ended,
but not before Lake K. held a 30-15 lead to start the game.
Playing catch-up in the second quarter was apparently not what Portland had
in mind, nor would Lake K allow such a P-town run. For Portland it was
Stephon Marbury playing One on Five...and losing the battle. The rebounding
edge dimmed somewhat, but still, Lake K held an enormous advantage at 28-12.
The quarter ended with Lake K. up nearly 20 at 62-43.
Portland had to make a run, and with a five minute press and the reserves
playing significant minutes, P-town fought and clawed its way back into the
game. Portland fought back from a 21 point deficit to end the 3rd quarter
exhausted and down by just 10 87-77.
The fans in Portland got the opportunity to see champions at work here on
Sunday. Lake K refuted any belief by the home team that they really had any
chance. Every Portland run was met by a Payton dazzler or a Carter fast
break dunk. Marbury continued to play well, draining three's against a
tight double team and dragging Portland back into the game. There was no
heroics in Portland tonight however. Lake K got key contributions from its
bench with Ceballos chipping in 11 points and Jerome Williams with 14 points
and 10 rebounds. The quarter, game, series and Portland's season, ended
with a final score of Lake K 121, Portland 108. A hard fought series that
has some in Portland just saying "wait until next year." Referring to the
return of Alonzo Mourning, Coleman and Fisher...next year indeed.
Final Notes: Carter 32 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists; Payton 12 points,
13 assists; O'Neal 23 points, 9 rebounds, 1 earthquake measurable dunk;
Marbury 39 points, 6 rebounds (team high), 7 assists on 8/16 from 3pt land;
Wallace 16 points
WALNUT CREEK at MILWAUKEE
Game 1
Quite the back and forth struggle. Jason Kidd had to do everything for
Milwaukee, as it seemed T-mac was doubled whenever he played the 1 or 2.
Webber, was also doubled when I could (which was sparingly), and when he
posted in the 3, Artest and Tmac (seemed) to do a good job. I tried to use
Tmac or ERob when he was at the 4, so as to create a ough match-up for CWebb
on the other end. No one really won that battle. You team draws a TON of fouls.
Either way, I generally had a decnet lead (4-10 points) except for a 3rd
quarter run (when I sat Kidd for the longest time, the computer (IIRC)
pressed Tma and Carr leading to a nice run. A Press of my own led to some
fastbreak points in the 4th quarter, but with 12 seconds left it was tied.
TO, I used Tmac at the 4 to create some O (trying to penetrate on your big
man). He drew the foul, made the front end, but then drew iron on the
backend. Fortunatly Jason Kidd was there to sneak from the top of the key,
for the tip in to take a 3 point lead with 8 seconds left.
This is where I almsot made a fatal mistake. Not only did I forget to play
safe my inside guys (to lessen the "and-one" probabilities, but I still
remained Sagged on CWebb (which is how I guarded him all game). Webber, got
the shot (no suprise-- as he's your rated shooter), and dispite the sag D on
him, the 23 footer was just a little beyond his range -- and fell short, as
Milwaukee stole one 96-93.
Game 2
Webber went crazy, and just about single handedly fouled out my whole team.
36,9.. But White had a nice game to add to Kidd's and TMac usual efforts as
Milwaukee pulls out a nice 4th quarter comeback to pull this one out.
When Foster was @ the 4 CWebb at the 3, and Arvidis @ the 5 I doubled
arvitius (off of Foster) and guarded Webber with Tmac or Artest. I figured
Webber is going to get his regardles of what I do b/c his P coulmn is so
unstopable.
Tmac 28; Kidd 23, 9 a; White 13 & 10
Game 3
In the first half McGrady had 18 points but the rest of your team had 13
and I led 67-31. It was all coasting after that and I won 108-75.
Christie blocked McGrady 3 times but despite being doubleteamed when
Christie wasn't on him McGrady ended with 42 points on 18-33 shooting
and 11 rebounds. Kidd had only 8 points, 6 assists, and 1 rebound.
Patterson tried to make up for 2-10 shooting on the road in game 2 with
11-15 shooting for 27 points. Webber had 18 points and 8 rebounds.
Popeye, E.Johnson, and Patterson each hit a 3 for me.
Game 4
This game was much like game 3 through the first half though you had a
run near the end of the half. I led at halftime 53-33. I stayed ahead by
about 20 points until the end and ended up winning 92-76.
McGrady had 25 points while Kidd contributed with 14 points, 8 rebounds,
and 6 assists. Artest had 13 points but was only 1-7 on 3's (1-6 vs
normal defense).
Webber had a big game with 31 points on 12-21 shooting, 7 rebounds,
and 6 assists including 3 dazzlers. Patterson added 25 points and 8
rebounds as he was able to get some offensive rebounds and steals.
Sabonis was 5-8 shooting but didn't get many shots.
I had 20 turnovers and only 21 foul shots, both very unusual for my team
especially at home. The difference was that I shot 51% to your 40%.
Game 5
How important is homecourt to our teams. Being as our stengths lie
primarily in the matchups. (Webber outside @ the 4 or inside @ the 3),
McGrady outside @ the 4, or inside @ the 1 (Kidd too). Plus I can use
my TOs to avoid bad shots the computer would otherwise take.
Webber wasn't stopped at all in this game (45 points, 9r, 13-18 from the
line, 4a, 3s, 5tos, and fouled out with 2 seconds left).
Once again, the Milwaukee O was led my TMac (31, 7r, 3 s, but 5tos) and Kidd
(30, 4 3s, 11a). White also came up huge as many games he's been the #3 guy
on this team (I'll miss his minuets next year--- blame Popeye Jones for
cutting into his PT). White had 21, 11 and 4 blocks.
Game 6
I took a 6-0 lead early in the game but you went on an 18-6 run to cut off
another runaway game. McGrady was hitting from everywhere and had
17 points at the half. You led 54-51 at the half. I was trying to feed
Patterson posting on K.Anderson (12 minutes per half) and Dooling but
he didn't get the ball much in the first half. Webber was not the main
offense except for the scheduled 6 minutes per half penetrating against
Traylor. There was so much foul trouble that Traylor played more than
scheduled so I was able to get Webber more action.
I had a hot 3rd quarter and led 84-78 near the end of the 3rd quarter. With
16 seconds to go in the quarter and the shot clock off I chose to penetrate
with Webber against Traylor instead of holding for the last shot but he
missed and Bradley made an inside shot on the other end to make it
84-80 after 3.
In the first half of the 4th quarter you went cold and Sabonis decided to make
sure that this wasn't his last somiba game going for 8 points posting up
Jahidi. I pulled out to a double digit lead and ended up winning 116-100.
McGrady was unstoppable against the doubleteam (I left K.Anderson or
Dooling open when McGrady was outside at PF) and he was even
unstoppable posting up E.Johnson (after a foul substitution the computer
played McGrady inside at PF) -- Christie was the only one able to play well
on Tracy -- and McGrady went for 39 points on 14-27 shooting including 4-4
on 3's with 3 of those vs close defense. Kidd had 20 points on 7-13 shooting
(including 1-1 vs wide open) but added only 4 rebounds and 4 assists
(including only 1 fastbreak dazzler).
The three superstars in this game (Webber, McGrady, and Kidd) received
the star treatment from the refs, but most especially Webber who was 15-23
from the line as he ended up with 35 points and 9 rebounds. Jeff Foster
was 6-7 shooting mostly penetrating vs close and added 7 rebounds.
Patterson ended up with 17 points on 7-9 shooting posting up small guys.
The big difference was the offensive efficiency. I shot 60% to your 48%
and I scored 8 more points at the line. I had lots of turnovers in the
first half but ended up committing 2 fewer than you did.
Game 7
For all the game for McGrady not to show up (7-28) "only" 20 points. Kidds
18 assists were "quite" as he did little else in the game (except foul out).
Playing his most inspired game every Jahadi White pumped in 23 on 11 for 13
shooting, and Fortson came back from the dead to get 17 rebounds. It wasn't
enough. Even though he took seemingly all of their shots (your right the
computer doesn't feed the post enough), Webber wasn't alone. It seemd that
WAl went on a run every time Webber sat (9 point run to end the 1st quarter
for instance, following a 15 point MIL run).. Once the initial onslaught was
weatherd I knew I was in trouble. This team shoots VERY bad when McGrady
and company are fatigured, and tons of 4th quarter turnovers didn't help
matters.
Great series, as a Visiting team finally takes on. The one that counts
nonetheless. Good luck vs. Team Shaq.
ROUND 1
NORTON at LAKE K -- won by Lake K 3-1
Game 1
Lake K 120 Norton 109
Norton fought tooth and nail until the very end. Lake K got an early 8-0 run to take
a 10-4 lead in the first period. But Norton fought back to cut the lead to one at 11-10.
But a Lake K 10-0 run gave them their biggest lead of the game at 25-13 thanks to three
consecutive FB baskets at the end of the run. Iverson answered with a basket and a foul
followed by a three pointer, and Peja drained a three to end the first period with Norton
only down 34-30. Amazingly, Norton was in it despite 41% FG shooting while Lake K was a
sizzling 65%. And the FT and three pointer points evened out, and both teams had just 3
turnovers, so it could have been much worse for Norton. Iverson scored 16 of his 29
points in the first period. Shaq had 11 in the first and Payton 10.
Norton tied the game at 36-36, and regained the lead at 39-38 with a Van Exel three.
Norton's biggest lead of the game came at 46-42, but Payton's first dazzler of the game
tied it at 47-47. Lake K completed a 10-1 run to regain the lead at 52-47. But another
Van Exel three put Norton back on top 55-54. At the half, Lake K was clinging to a 56-55
lead. Lake K still had a big edge in FG shooting 53% to 38%. Iverson did not attempt a
FG in the second period but went 7 for 10 from the line to lead everyone with 23 points.
Brand and Van Exel each had 10 points. Lake K was led by Shaq's 20 points and 11
rebounds. Payton had 14 and VC 9.
Norton was able to tie the game three times in the third period but never led the
entire second half. The first tie came at 57-57. Lake K answered with six straight
points. Van Exel hit a three and got another dazzler to make it 65-62. Payton answered
with a hoop and some harm. Van Exel's sixth and final dazzler of the game cut the lead
to 71-68. At the midway point of the third Lake K was up 75-68, but Norton scored the
next six points making it a one point game again. Payton drained a three pointer, but
Norton scored four in a row to tie the game at 78-78. Payton nailed another three but
Peja knocked down a three of his own for the last tie of the period at 81-81. After
three periods, Lake K led 89-85. Iverson only scored 4 in the third to lead his team
with 27. Brand now had 16 and Van Exel 15. Payton was now the leading scorer with 17
of his 31 points coming in the third. Shaq now had 25 points and 17 rebounds.
Lake K tried to pull away in the 4th but Norton hung tough. A Payton dazzler put us
up by 7 at 101-94, but with 5:09 to go the lead was only 105-101. And with 4:27 to go
it was 105-103. After Vaughn missed a three, Crawford scored on the break to tie the
game for the last time at 107-107 with under four to go. The momentum shifted to Lake
K when Shaq made 1 of 2 FT's, and a loose ball foul was called on Iverson. Carter made
the 2 FT's (despite missing 4 of his first 7 FT attempts). Then J. Williams scored on
an offensive rebound, and Payton his sixth and final dazzler with 2:15 to go making it
114-107. Lake K ended up scoring 13 of the last 15 points of the game after that 107-107
tie.
Lake K finished the game shooting 56% to Norton's 42%. Despite committing only 2
more fouls than Lake K, Norton only got to the line 26 times while Lake K took 44 FT
attempts. Lake K also won the rebound battle 50 to 38. Norton only had 9 turnovers
while Lake K committed 15. Iverson was contained to only 6 second half points with no
FT attempts in the 2nd half after 16 FTA's in the first half. He finished with a team
high 29 points. Brand and Van Exel each had 18 points and Peja added 15. Iverson,
Brand, and Van Exel combined for only 7 4th period points. For Lake K, Payton finished
as the game high man with 37 points plus 11 assists. Shaq was unstopable with 35 points,
22 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. Carter added 19 points.
Game 2 -- this game did not count, see league news page for details
Norton 114 Lake K 103
Lake K gets spanked at home splitting the first two home games just like
last year's First Round Series. Norton led almost the entire game starting
with a 4-0 lead at the start. But Lake K scored nine unanswered points for
a 9-4 lead and could have gotten more but Vaughn missed two FB shots and got
a charge on another. Norton responded with a 10-0 run of their own for a
14-9 lead. Lake K tied the game at 14-14, but thanks to three pointers by
Iverson and Crawford, Norton led by six points at 24-18. They matched that
lead at 26-20, and after one period they still led 26-22. Lake K shot 50%
in the first while Norton only shot 38%. Lake K made one more FT and
grabbed one more rebound than Norton, and the turnovers were even, so Norton
was doing it with hustle. Carter (10 points) and Shaq (6 points) each had
more than any Norton player who was led by Van Exel's 5 points. Iverson
only had 3 this time in the first, and it came from downtown.
Lake K tied the game again at 34-34, but Houston knocked down a three.
Lake K scored the next four points for their last lead of the game at 38-37.
By the half, Norton had their biggest lead of the game so far of 8 points at
50-42. Lake K still had the FG edge 48% to 38%, but Norton made 5 three
pointers to none for Lake K and made 3 more FT's than Lake K despite 4 less
attempts. Lake K led 19 to 16 in rebounds. Brand was leading Norton with 9
points while Van Exel had 8 and Iverson only 7. Carter was the game high
scorer at the half with 14 while Shaq only had 8 and Payton just 5.
The closest Lake K got in the second half was at the midway point of the
third period when they were only down by 3 at 60-57. But Hill got a hoop
and some harm which triggered an 11-2 run to give Norton their biggest lead
to date of 12 at 71-59. And after three quarters they now led by 14 at
79-65. The Fg edge had dropped to 45% to 41%. Norton went 0 for 5 from
downtown in the period and Lake K went 0 for 3. Now Norton had made 5 more
FT's in 5 less attempts. And they now had the rebounding edge 33 to 30.
Carter was still the top dog with 19 points while Payton, Brand and Iverson
each had 13. Shaq was having maybe his worst playoff game ever with 1 for 8
FG's and 6 for 17 FT's for just 8 points.
Three times in the 4th Norton built the lead to 15 points at 87-72, 107-92
with 2:38 to go, and 110-95 with under two left. Lake K got seven quick
points to trail by only 8 with exactly one minute left 110-102 thanks to the
press defense, but a Van Exel FB dazzler off the press clinched the game.
Van Exel ended up with four dazzlers in the game while Lake K combined for
only three (one each by Payton, Blaylock, and Vaughn).
Lake K won the FG edge 49% to 42%, but it was not big enough as in Game 1.
The game was won at the FT line where Norton went 33 of 38 to Lake K's
woeful 16 of 31. Norton had a 43 to 42 rebounding edge. Lake K ended up
with more assists 25 to 17 despite one less dazzler than Norton. Carter was
the game high scorer with 31 points. Payton added 25 points and 8 assists
(with just one dazzler). Shaq got a meaningless double double with 12
points and 11 rebounds but was 3 for 12 FG's and 6 for 17 FT's. Norton got
much better balanced scoring this time with six players in double figures
led by Iverson's 19. Brand added 15 and Peja 14.
Game 2 -- game played after game 3
Norton 107 Lake K 105
Norton survives elimination with a well deserved, hard fought victory.
This game had maybe more ties and lead changes than any other game in the
history of SOMIBA. In the first period there were 8 lead changes and 5
ties. No one led by more than four points then entire first half. Lake K
scored 6 in a row for a 23-21, but Norton answered right back with six in a
row of their own. After one period Norton led 29-27 despite being out shot
50% to 35%. And Lake K had a 17 to 9 rebounding edge. But Norton made no
turnovers in the first. Van Exel scored 12 in the opener while Shaq poured
in 9.
Van Exel got a dazzler to start the second period, but it was the only
dazzler Norton got the entire game! Lake K's biggest lead of the first half
came at 34-31. The second period saw 12 more lead changes and 4 more ties.
An Iverson three pointer made it 54-50 late in the half matching Norton's
biggest lead of the first half. At the half Norton still led by 2 at 55-53.
The FG edge widened slightly, 53% to 36%. And Lake K was almost doubling
Norton in rebounds 30 to 16. The turnovers were 7 to 2 for Lake K. Payton
was now the leading scorer with 16 points. Van Exel had 15 and Shaq 14.
Peja was 2 for 10 FG's and 0 for 6 from downtown.
Shaq took over in the third period, twice getting a hoop and some harm,
missing the FT both times, but Ostertag got the offensive rebound and replay
both times. This helped Lake K take a 66-61 lead, their biggest to that
point. On the next play, Norton missed, but a loose ball foul was called on
Carter, his 5th of the game with 7:14 to go in the 3rd. This swung the
momentum to Norton who tied the game at 73-73 and took a 75-73 lead late in
the third. Lake K answered with their best spurt of the game scoring the
last nine points of the period for their biggest lead of the game 82-75
after three periods. The FG difference was still large 52% to 34%. And 45
to 26 in rebounds for Lake K. Shaq scored 13 of his 27 points to this point
in the third period. He also had 10 rebounds and 5 blocks through three.
Payton only scored 2 in the third and Carter just one point in the third.
Van Exel was still high man for Norton with 22 while Iverson had 17, and
Clark had 10 points and 7 rebounds.
Lake K turned it over to start the 4th and Houston got a basket and a foul.
The lead was down to four instead of nine or ten. Norton was able to tie
the game at 84-84. Another loose ball foul on Carter with 8:13 to go gave
him number six and disqualified him the rest of the way. All four loose
ball fouls called in the game went against Lake K. Norton matched their
biggest lead of the game at 89-85 to open the 4th with a 14-3 run. But Lake
K came back and tied it at 91-91 with 6:23 to go. Payton got a FB dazzler
to make it 98-95 Lake K. It was the only dazzler for either team in the
entire second half! Vaughn made 1 of 2 FT's to make it 99-95, and Shaq got
another hoop and some harm, but again missed the FT, giving Lake K a 101-97
lead with 3:20 left. Then Lake K;s defense let them down. Foyle, who was 0
for 5 FG's scored inside over Shaq, Clark got a steal, and the ball went to
Foyle again who scored inside against Shaq again to tie the game at 101-101
with 2:33 left. Four points for Foyle in less than a minute. Shaq scored
on a offensive rebound with 2:20 to go. Then Davis scored inside over Shaq
to tie the game again at 103-103. Payton scored on the penetration vs.
Iverson. But Iverson answered with an outside shot against Payton to tie
the game at 105-105 with 1:35 to go. Shaq then ran out of gas as he missed
inside. On the next possession, Peja scored on the penetration. Shaq went
inside again but was called for a charge with 35 seconds left. Norton
turned the ball over while running the clock down up 107-105. Lake K got
another chance, but again Shaq missed inside with 11 seconds left. But
Ostertag was there again for another offensive rebound and replay. Before I
could call timeout or make any choices, Iverson stole the ball and the game
ended with no more options.
Looking at the numbers would seem to indicate an easy Lake K win, but
Norton found a way to get it done. Lake K shot 52% to Norton;s 41%. Norton
only made 4 more FT's and 4 more three pointers. But Lake K had a 56 to 33
rebounding edge. And a 7 to 1 dazzler edge. But we lost the game with 17
turnovers to only 6 for Norton (6 to 1 in the 4th) and 17 missed FT's cost
us as well. Van Exel led Norton with 24 points and Iverson added 21. Three
other players, Clark, Brand, and Peja each scored exactly ten points. For
Lake K, Shaq played awesome until the final minute with 40 points and 15
rebounds. Payton had 22 points and 10 assists, but only 6 points in the
second half. Carter got only 5 points in 24 minutes before fouling out, and
he didn't even guard Iverson at any point.
Game 3
Lak regains series lead with a physical 129-117 win at Norton.
Quarter 1 - Lak comes out running and rebounding, grabbing a 46-30 first quarter lead,
pounding Nor on the boards 15-6. Carter goes nuts with 21 pts and 5 boards, and Shaq
hits 4-4 for 9 points and 4 boards.
Qtr 2 - Norton comes back in 2nd period narrowing lead to 64-58 at half and cutting
rebound gap to 22-16. Antonio Davis leads comeback with 19 pts and 9 boards by half,
with Peja adding 14. Carter held scoreless in 2nd period, but Shaq ends half with 16.
Fouls are a concern for Nor as bRAND, iVERSON AND dAVIS EACH HAVE 3.
3rd quarter - Another 40 pt quarter for Lak as they extend lead to 104-95, and lead
on boards to 35-21. Davis and Iverson end quarter with 5 fouls. Peja eads Nor with
13 pts in the quarter, Shaq now has 25 pts, 9 boards.
4th quarter - Norton makes a run to cut lead to 118-117, but the foul trouble has
taken its toll. Davis fouls out early, and Iverson and Brand are lost also. Fouls
limit Iverson to 26 minutes and 13 pts, Brand gets 6 pts in 22 minutes. Foul trouble
renders Davis ineffective in 2nd half, limiting him to 2 points and 1 board. Lak
scores final 11 points of game as Nor has nothing left in tank.
Shaq 36 pts 13 reb, Payton 23 points 10 assist, Carter 27 pts 8 reb, J Williams 13
points 10 rebounds. Norton notables - Peja 33 points Van Exel 24 pts 8 assts, Davis
21 pts 10 reb. The pounding on the boards ended at 49-27.
Game 4
Season ends for Norton 110-109 as Iverson misses a fastbreak layup with 7 seconds to
go. Nor lead the entire game, until the end, despite being battered on the boards again.
1st quarter - Norton leads 27-23 Carter picks up 2 quick fouls. Payton leads Lak with
7 points, Van Exel has 7 for Nor.
2nd quarter endds with Nor up 57-50, but outboarded 23-14. Carter picks up his 3rd
quickly, Davis and Foyle with 3 fouls for Norton. Payton leads Lak with 20 points,
Iverson and van Exel lead Nor with 13 each,
After 3 Norton leads 86-80 trailing 38-20 on the boards. Payton still tops Lak with
24, Iverson has 20 for Nor.
Payton picks up 5th foul with 6:27 to go, and Carter soon picks his 5th. Peja gets
his 5th for Norton. Norton holds lead until final minute, and has chance to win but
Iverson misses. Payton's 28 points, 13 assists is supported by Shaq 20 points and 14
boards. Carter adds 24. Iverson tops Nor with 30, but missed the key one.
MICHIANA at MILWAUKEE -- won by Milwaukee 3-2
Game 1
1 out of 32. Those are the odds (I think) of making a desperation full court shot
in SOM. That is all Ratliff needed. Seemingly just piling on at the end of the 1st
half. Those 3 points could be considered the difference in the game.
Up by 4, Michiana added to their 1st half lead with Ratliff's only 3 pointer of the
season (and Michiana's only 1 of the game). But then again who needs 3's when you go
to the line 38 times.
Milwaukee staged a come back (furious in the forth, but then Michiana clamped down
on a tired T-Mac, and the game winner at the buzzer was for not (He hit 3 game winners
for me in the regular season). In O.T., even with the player of this game, KG, fouling
out was owned by Michiana; the Menace was too tired, and fouled too much.
Maybe it was luck, maybe it was poor coaching, maybe it was too many fouls that was
Milwaukee's down fall. My guess is it was greed. Thinking I had the game I coached
in the bag, I sat everyone who needed a game off.
Maybe one Danny Fortson REB would have made the difference, or 1 Kenny Anderson
Steals; or 1 less shotclock TO b/c Chris Carr is a rated shooter when I didn't have
TMac in. Or maybe Having Carr, would have allowed me to rest TMac more, and that
gamewinner would have fallen in.
Who knows, the coachless wonder pulls off the victory on the road.
Game 2
More fouls and seemingly sloppy play. (Or good D, if you choose to look at it that
way.) Garnatt goes for 25, 9, and 5 (the CPU doesn't take advantage of him posting up
Artest or T-Mac enough). Grant has 21 and 12. Artest is the only scorer early in the
game. He had 12 in the 1st frame (only 16 over all) Kidd again is nonexistent on the
board, but fouls out Brandon and adds in 17. T-Mac with a "quiet" 23. Kenny Anderson
was the key. 14 points and all of the 3 pointers made for Milwaukee (3 for 3), in
limited PT.
Game 3
Danny Fortson and Grant Hill each played their only
game of the series in this game, and each had a solid
game. Fortson shot 8/9 for 22 points and also had 10
rebounds. Hill's main contribution was on defense,
where he guarded McGrady one-on-one most of the game
and held him to 23 points on only 8/31 shooting.
McGrady's poor shooting was the difference in the
game. His misses allowed me to get Michiana's
fastbreak going. Milwaukee on the other hand never
seemed to be able to get theirs going very well.
Milwaukee generally outplayed Michiana in the first
half and led by 6 at the half. Midway through the 3rd
quarter, Milwaukee still had a 5 point lead, but then
Michiana went on a big run to get a 10 point lead by
late in the 3rd. After that Milwaukee never got
closer than 5 points.
Brandon and Garnett both had good shooting games,
scoring 30 and 29 points. Milwaukee had 3 players
score 20 or more, with Kidd joining McGrady and
Fortson. Kidd also had 12 assists.
Game 4
Milwaukee stays alive with a close victory at
Michiana. Jason Kidd played only 23 minutes due to
foul trouble, but Kenny Anderson picked up the slack
with 18 points to go along with McGrady's 34. For
Michiana, Garnett had 22 points but did not shoot well
for the first 3 quarters. He only had 10 points at
the end of the 3rd quarter.
The game was very close in the 2nd half, with neither
team leading by more than 4. With under a minute to
go, Langdon made a three to give Michiana a one point
lead but McGrady scored on the next possession to get
the lead back. Milwaukee then forced a turnover and
Kidd scored again with 2 seconds left to give you a 3
point lead. I called time out and called a play for
Langdon, but Dooling committed a non-shooting foul,
and I wasn't able to get a shot off after that.
Game 5
Game 5 proved not to be as closely contested as the other 4 contests.
Unlike the other games, the key point came early. KG picked up foul #2
4 minuets into the game and foul #3 seconds aftrer checking in for the
2nd quarter. 25 mins, 14 points and 7 rebounds. No KG allowed me to go
small (TMAC or EROB at the 4 for a while, where I really blew the game
open on the fastbreak).
As was the case all season Kidd and T-Mac were the team (with Artest the
main receiver of Kidd's fastbreak passing).
Theo Ratliff had a surprisingly good game for MIC.
Wells 13, 7r; Brandon 18, 6a; Grant 16, 8r; Ratliff 20, 12r, 3b (he was
posted against MUCH smaller guys with KG out); Billips 24 mins ZERO points
TMac 34, 7r, 3a; Artest 21, 3r, 4a, 4s (10-11 on FTs); Bradley 8, 6r, 6b;
Kidd 26p 8r 11a 5s.
GALACTIC at WALNUT CREEK -- won by Walnut Creek 3-0
Game 1
The game started off in typical Wal-at-home fashion with the opposition
picking up quick fouls but the refs decided in a rare move to call this
one down the middle for most of the game.
The score was tied at 29 after 1 but I took a 60-54 lead into the half. In the
first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter there were 11 fouls and plenty of missed
shots as playoff basketball was in full force and I was slowly building a lead
here 68-59 but Webber went ice cold at this point and a bit later you
rattled off a 7-0 run to tie the game at 76. I was ahead 85-84 after 3.
Sabonis was on fire his whole time on the court and helped me build a
101-94 lead but you got close again 101-100 with 2:58 remaining.
Webber then hit a shot and after you missed Cassell was called for
a loose ball (random) foul and 100% free throw shooter Bohannon
made both to put the game into intentional foul territory and I ended
up winning 114-107.
Cassell had 21 points and 7 assists while A.Miller was 9-11 shooting
but Gatling and Hughes were 11-35. You had only 8 turnovers to my
15 but I won the rebounding edge 43-35.
Webber had 31 points on 27 shots and added 12 rebounds and 7 assists
(including 2 dazzlers) while one-game-eligible Bohannon added 12 points
and 8 rebounds in 18 minutes. In one of his last games in the league
Sabonis had 26 points on 10-14 shooting in 23 minutes.
Game 2
Andre Miller was dominant in the first few minutes but I went on a 7-0 run to
end the first quarter and led 32-25. I ended the second quarter with another
7-0 run with Patterson scoring 9 points in the last 2 minutes and I led 63-51
at halftime. I was shooting over 60% at this point with something like 20-22
on free throws but had 11 turnovers to your 6 or 7.
Webber took over at the start of the third quarter scoring 12 points in 5 minutes
and I led 82-61 at one point in the quarter as you were committing turnover after
turnover but you finished the quarter strong with Cassell scoring 6 points in 1
minute with 1 of each type of regular position shot and after 3 quarters I led 87-75.
To begin the fourth quarter you got the lead down to 8 but I went on a 10-2 run
with the help of 2 Foster inside hoops. You had a 6-0 run but with 4:45 to go
you trailed 101-91 and I ended up holding you off the rest of the way. I won
116-99.
You shot 53% to my 54% and you outrebounded me 34-33 but you had 19
turnovers to my 14 and I was 28-32 from the line (including 8-9 by Spencer
and E.Johnson combined) to your 14-22 and that was the difference.
Cassell had 21 points and 6 assists while A.Miller added 14 points, 8 assists
(almost all were non-fastbreak dazzlers), and 6 rebounds.
Webber led all scorers with 34 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists (no dazzlers)
while Wesley and Patterson each had 16 points and Sabonis added 5-5 shooting.
Game 3
Walnut Creek takes game 3 at Galactic 107-80. Not much went right for Galactic
shooting only 44% and being out rebounded 43-29 with both teams having 24 assists.
PORTLAND at SUNNYVALE -- won by Portland 3-1
Game 1
Both teams started on fine, scoring 25 total points in the first
3:40. Then it quickly settled into the pattern a lot of my home games
have been getting into. After the first Portland was up 30-18, with a
11-6 rebounding advantage. Sunnyvale had committed 7 more fouls and 3
more turnovers. Portland hit 3 of their 6 three-pointers, while Sunnyvale
was 0 for 4.
In the second Portland stretched their lead to 48-33, continuing their
statistical advantages, +9 on rebounding, +7 on fouls committed, and +1 on
turnovers committed. Three point shooting was now 4/9 vs. 0/8 (5
by Barry). Each team had 1 player with 12, LaFrentz and Marion.
In the third it continued, reaching an 18 point lead before I put on the
press with 5:35. I really didn't want to press Marbury, but sometimes you
have no choice. The press dropped the lead to 10 at one point, and the
quarter finished with a 74-62 Portland lead. The rebounding and turnover
edges were still 3 and the foul edge was 7. Each team had 4 players in
double figures, but the leaders were still LaFrentz with 14 and Marion
with 18.
Early in the 4th LaFrentz picked up his 5th and didn't return to the
game. He wasn't needed as Wallace scored 10 and grabbed several key
offensive rebounds. Portland wins going away 100-84, although the stats
normalized a bit. Stars for Portland were Rasheed Wallace with 21 points
and 11 rebounds, Stephon Marbury with 12 points and 9 assists, Michael
Olowokandi with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Bruce Bowen with 5 steals.
For Sunnyvale Shawn Marion led with 25. Damon Stoudamire contributed 13
points and 11 assists, and Dikembe Mutombo scored 11 and pulled down 12
boards. Brent Barry came down from a brilliant shooting regular season to
miss 10 of his 12 long-range shots.
Sunnyvale is now 0-3 at home against Portland this season.
Game 2
This one started off tight. Sunnyvale still couldn't hold onto the ball
or keep from fouling, but they had a rebounding edge of 5 to offset poor
shooting (35% vs 43%). 20-20 after 1. Leading scorers were Bowen with 6
and Barry with 7. In the second Portland moved to a slight lead. Dale
Davis hit a 3 just before the half to close it to 42-73. Portland was
losing the rebounding battle by 3, but had committed 3 few turnovers and 4
fewer fouls. Wallace and Marion were leading their teams at the half,
each with 10. Portland had missed all 3 of their bombs (49% shooting
overall though), and Sunnyvale was 3 for 10, but still just 38% overall.
In the third things started to bog down. I felt like I was watching a
Heat/Knicks playoff game. Neither team led by more than the inital 5
point margin in the 3rd, and Sunnyvale closed the quarter with its first
second half lead of the series, 60-59, thanks to 4 Jake Tsakalidis free
throws in the final :23 (who knew?). Portland kept close via 3 Pack
dazzlers. The rebounding edge was now 7, but the turnover edge was 8 and
the foul edge 3. Wallace and Marion were still the only guys in double
figures, with 12 and 18. Mutombo blocked 3 shots this quarter, 2 in a
sequence of 3 straight on one possession (Moore got the other).
Portland opened the fourth on a 19-2 run (Marbury with 12 and Wallace with
6), and that's your ballgame. Marbury scores 21 in the quarter as
Portland rolls to a 98-83 win. At 8:41 Marion picked up his 5th
foul and sat the rest of the way as Sunnyvale went into a desperation
press. Sunnyvale follows its 3 for 21 three-point performance in game 1
with a 6 for 21 game (48% regular season shooter Brent Barry improved
from 2 for 12 to 3 for 12). Portland shot 50% to 38% for Sunnyvale. I
didn't write down the numbers after 3, so I don't know if Sunnyvale in
fact did shoot 38% in every quarter.
Star of the game was Stephon Marbury with 30 points and 8 assists. Sheed
chipped in with 22 points and 8 boards. For Sunnyvale Marion led with 18,
and Mutombo had a double-double with 10 and 12. I feel like George Karl
right now the way my team quit on me. Even worse the beating came from my
hometown team's star.
Game 3
So this is one odd series. Neither team can win at home as Sunnyvale beats
Portland 105-100 in a hard fought physical game. Portland had a one point
edge through the first period and that was the last time the Centurions
would be in front. Sunnyvale won by crushing Portland on the boards with a
47-34 advantage. Sunnyvale had balanced scoring with five players scoring
in double figures (led by Marion with 26). Portland was led in scoring by
its usual triumvirate of Wallace, Jones & Marbury. Marbury had a game high
31 and Wallace had 18 points with 16 rebounds. Sunnyvale gave up on
shooting the three this game, only attempting 7, but converting on 5 of
their trey attempts. Portland attempted 23 three pointers and hit 8 of
them. This game was the only playoff appearance by Alonzo Mourning and
Derek Fisher...I guess I can't wait to lose my next home game so Portland
can get back to their comfort zone of playing in Sunnyvale...whatever
happened to home court advantage?
Game 4
The upstart Portland Centurions defeated Sunnyvale in front of a packed
house at the Colleseum. The game was close through the first half, with
both teams taking leads. The third quarter was all Portland however, as
Sunnyvale managed only 13 points in the period. This was the only game of
the series that was a victory for the home team. Sunnyvale had a monster
game from Steve Finley, whose 37 points on 16/40 shooting led all scorers.
Portland borrowed a page from Sunnyvale's game 3 plan as every Portland
player scored, led by 5 players in double figures (Marbury was the lead
scorer for Portland with 20). Portland in its first year in the league is
now in the second round of the SOMIBA playoffs.