kobe in boston

tuning in on a thanksgiving friday, lakers visiting boston. kobe vs kg/pierce/rayray. 1st quarter is over. kobe plays like a man posessed. all the shots he took were amazing. 25-16. the double pump fake and spin moves. it's ridiculous. last shot of quarter, he was trying to take it, doubled, behind the back pass to wide open jfarmar, who missed it with no time left on the clock. the pass was just a little late for farmar to get a good shot.

kobe's actions are all so quick and so precise. he can make instanteous change in whatever position his body is in. if he has ONE big time super star, the team would immediately be in championship position. i mean, this is one DRIVEN mofo and he will win games with his sheer determination. KG is also famous for his intensity. those two would be so on fire it'd be ridiculous to watch.

well now the celtics got 3 superstar and lakers got 1. kobe scared KG away. good job man.

the big 3 is just too much to handle. they all know how to play and their chem is really there.

lakers bench is playing pretty good, actually cutting the lead a bit. everyone's contributing. apparently lakers are 2nd in the L in most bench points per game.

team analysis: Southwest Division

easily the best division in the L, it boosts 3 champion hopefuls and two teams that are ready for playoffs.

rockets:

jeff van gundy is a great defensive coach, however, this team has slowly become a very offense oriented team, and JVG basically dragged the team down with his uninspiring offense. so gone is JVG, in is rick adelman, who previously coached two high power offenses (late 90's kings who never got past the lakers and early 90's blazers who never got past the bulls) and is looking to do the same with this squad.

mcgrady and yao are two of the most unstoppable offensive force in the game, so everything needs to start with them. adelman will occasionally put yao in the high post, where he can effective shoot and pass, while drawing the opposite center out of the paint. mcgrady should remain as the team's offense decision maker, whether it's scoring or playmaking, the ball needs to go through his hands because he draws so much attention. chuck hayes will continue to provide energy and grab boards, rafer alston will continue running the offense and spreading the floor with his 3s, mutombo will continue backing yao up, and shane battier will be mr intangible again.

big addition this off season is luis scola, a seasoned argentine veteran who's been in the game for 10 years. he should be able to get the starting 4 spot half way through the season. he will do whatever it takes to win, and will help out yao in the post. back on the team is mike james, who was traded for juwan howard this off season. he will provide instant offense off the bench, and will probably be splitting time with alston for crunch time minutes, depend on whos' having a good game. bonzi wells was on the team last year, but played so few and in between that he's basically a new comer this year. his size, athleticism, and scoring ability will make him 3rd option of the team (still off the bench though, the team needs battier's defense and hustle for the starting squad). last and the least, steve francis is also back on the team. the signing doesn't make much sense as the point guard spot has rafer alston, luther head, mike james, and draftee aaron brooks already. maybe they are just stockpiling talents/names for trades later, but who's gonna take steve francis, who's fallen off so much the past 3 years?

rockets is going to take a while to switch from a tightly structured defense-first strategy to a free flowing offense set, but once everyone's on board, this team should make a lot of noise and probably grab a top 4 seed in the west. biggest question mark, as usual, is the fragile health of Yao Mac. if they can play together for about 70 games, they should get favorable seeding and advance to second round, for the first time in yao mac's respective careers.

spurs:

tim duncan, ginobili, tony parker, and popovich. as long as those 4 are with the team, the spurs are a championship caliber team. practically the whole team return so they will be right back to the thick of things. their weakest link last year was at backup point, but rookie darius washington has come in and provided hustle, great defense, and some outside shooting to boot. they will consistently pound away wins in the regular season, so they can possibly have the best record by the end of season. though it won't matter to them as they are built for the playoffs, and i like them to (finally) repeat as champion.

mavs:

the mavs' psyche has been seriously shaken the last two playoff series, but they are still an elite team in the NBA. more than ever, dirk needs to prove himself as a capable leader and late game performer. this team is even more of a machine than san antonio, in terms of lack of persoanlities, and they are no good. they are efficient and faceless, which i suppose is why a lot people don't like them. i, on the other hand, just don't really have much to say about them. they will have a win total around 55-60 and advance to 2nd round, then lose to either suns and spurs. i don't think they'll advance past either of them.

hornets:

a team that was ravaged by injuries last year but was still able to make a playoff push towards the end of the season. with a healthy squad this year, they are poised to be in the playoff. peja is back and should provide the team with a lethal long range threat to loosen up the paint, tyson chandler will clean up the glass and provide the team with a huge defensive presence, and david west will do his work near the baskets and drain short jumpers. mo pete & bobby jackson are going to provide points when the previously mentioned are off their games.

the hornets is led by floor general chris paul, and he will make sure the weapons on the team are as effective as possible, with his passing and decision making. byron scott is an okay coach, so he won't exactly hold the team back nor lead the team to overachieve (though he did take the nets to two east finals, but it's probably more coz of assistant coach eddie jordan). my prediction for them is 7th seed in the west.

grizzlies:

a veteran point guard (stoudamire), 2 up and coming PG of the future (lowry, conley), a long range bomber (mike miller), a defensive big man (milicic), a rising all-star (gay), 2 athletic power forwards (warrick, swift), and a low post scoring threat (gasol). there's a lot to like for this team, and new coach marc iavaroni was an assistant coach in Phoenix, so this team will probably be an uptempo team. in the east, this team is good enough to be playoff bound; but this is the west, in the toughest division, so it's highly unlikely they will make it this year. 2-3 years down the line, if the team keeps developing this core, they can be a powerhouse.

team analysis: Pacific Division

lakers:

kobe kobe kobe. the best player on the planet, the most polarizing player in the NBA. the biggest story for this team is obviously the future of kobe as a laker, after he publicly demanded a trade and recinded it and demanded it and recinded it. good times all around. i won't believe kobe will be traded until he wears a uniform without the words "Lakers" in the front. he's more than just a basketball player for the Lakers organization. he's the star power that make the Lakers relevant in fickle LA, and there's no other players who can fill in his shoes outside the basketball court (unless they can get 2-3 all stars back in return).

as for the rest of the team, there really isn't much. lamar odom is another do-it-all talent who just can't get a break from terrible string of bad luck in his life. his game actually compliment kobe's, and he is probably more instrumental to the team sucess than kobe because he sets up the offense, and he is a big body who can take it inside but is just as comfortable outside. bynum is another year older and he is getting better with his kareem-taught post moves. derek fisher's return provided the team with much needed veteran leadership (especially important at the point) and outside shooting. his addition cannot be underestimated.

the sucess of the team hinges greatly on the development of the youngsters on the team. that would mean kobe dialing back a little and encouraging his teammate to play within phil's triangle (which is the same song we all sang for 2+ years). i don't think i've ever seen phil with so little control of his team, so unless there's some sort of break through in team meetings, expecting them to struggle the rest of the way, and maybe barely sneaking into the playoff.

warriors:

after last year's unbelievable and improbable surge near the end of the season that had the warriors sneaking into the playoff for the great upset of the mavs in the first round, it seems like it's going to be a letdown year this season. GSW favorite son jason richardson was shipped to charlotte for mr brandan wright, who may become the future big man of the franchise. i assume the warriors are thinking they need to create room for monta ellis to shine, which i don't really object to. al harrington, stephen jackson, matt barnes, and pietrus are all going to continue their do-everything style of play. (last year this time jax was being torched for shooting a gun in the air after some nightclub incident, and this year he's one of the tri-captains of the warriors. amazing difference a year made.) i have high hopes for italian import belinelli, who should fit right in with warriors' run-and-gun style of play. andris biedrins should build on last year's sucess, and learn to stay out of foul trouble, as warriors have close to zero big man and they need him for easy buckets and defense/rebounding.

however, as we all know, warriors go as baron goes. he was magnificent in last year's playoff, and will need to bring the same intensity and leadership (not to mention the scoring and directing traffic) for the warriors to have same type of sucess as last year. they have a good chance of making the playoff, but is not a team that's built for the postseason. in fact, there's a very good chance that they won't make it this year. the top 6 teams in the west are set, and i think hornets are going to make it as the 7th seed this year, which leaves one spot for lakers and warriors to fight for. i have more faith in kobe and phil than baron's shaky health and nelson's system. good luck to them though.

clippers:

elton brand is a certified low-post/rebounding all star and shaun livingston is an exciting up-and-coming point guard. too bad they are in street clothes now and can't exactly help out the clips. they still have a decent lineup with kaman in the middle, maggette at the 3, cat mobley at the 2, and sam cassell running the show. however, kaman has been inconsistent at best since he got the contract last year, maggette is still being shopped around, and cassell is starting to be too old to play significant minutes. good thing they signed brevin knight, right? they have the talent to get into the postseason, just not exactly the right mix. elton brand is the engine and the glue for this squad, so if he comes back and get himself back to 100%, they can still fight for the last playoff spot. but so far there's still no update when exactly he'll be back, so that chance is slim.

kings:

mike bibby, kevin martin, ron artest, shareef abdur-rahim, brad miller. that's a pretty good starting 5, right? however this team became completely irrelevant the past year after their stella playoff series with the spurs, and seems to continue this depressing trend this year. new coach reggie theus won't be able to make anything out of this team. wtf happened with the kings?

suns:

off the top of my head, i can't think of a better starting line up in the L. Phoenix boosts 3 current all-stars (one of which is a 2 time MVP, and one that can become an MVP in about 2-3 years) and a former all-star. everyone knows about their exciting high octane offense and their regular season sucess. with this team it's about getting a championship, though it doesn't seem like their off season moves had increase the chance. in fact i think it has gone backward.

granted mr grant hill will be a very valuable addition to this team with his all around game, but trading away kurt thomas for money reason is terrible, as he was the only post defender the suns had. aside from Amare, the only big men they have are sean marks and brian skinner. basically amare is the sole big man on the suns squad, and with his tender knees, how can you bank on him guarding duncan for a full 7 game series after the 82 game season (and at least a series or two before the suns meet the spurs)? if somehow they advance past the spurs, the championship is theirs. simple as that.

team analysis: Atlantic Division

(this was written as part of a giant size season preview, but season's already started so it's not exactly preview anymore. i'm breaking this down by division so it's a little easier to read.)



Atlantic division, the butt joke of the NBA last year, is significantly better this year. nets is getting kristic back, raptors matured a lot last year with their first division title, knicks added the talent but troubled zach randolph, but the biggest improvement is the celtics.



celtics:


garnett is alone no more. the superstar who can do everything well except being an dominant scorer now has not only one but TWO bonafide superstar scorer to compliment his game. kg is the ultimate complimentry player in that whoever he plays with will benefit from his game tremendously. ray allen will have a field day camping in the 3 point territory with garnett drawing defense in, and paul pierce will have plenty of layups and dunks from garnett's high post passes.


just imagine having KG and pierce on pick and roll with allen sitting on the corner pocket. i mean, who do you play on this? unless they have wooden dolls as teammates, they are gonna be hard to stop. their bench is a concern, everyone's really green (ha! no pun intended. seriously), but i believe they have a decent core. worth noting is Cal alumni, pac10 player of the year Leon Powe is now backing up KG. should be fun.


this team is going to be monstrous in the regular season. kg is going at 100% in mid season form from the start for sure, he won't let the team take any plays off. pierce won't be as injury prone but we'll see about allen. i still think seattle just shelved him to tank game last year to get oden. well, durant may turn out to be the better choice for now huh? back to the Cs, i believe they are going to win at least the division and probably getting the number 1 seed. sure fire for 2nd round, in fact the only teams that can beat them are heat and pistons in a 7 game series. if they don't make it to the finals, it's because of the coaching. yeah wusup Doc?


knicks:


i can talk shit about the whole sexual harrassment fiasco with the knicks, but let's just focus on basketball here. the knicks have a great collection of individual talents. talents to create drama, especially. "knicks have a great collection of characters" is probably a more appropriate statement. there's the self proclaimed best point guard who heroically brought his family out of the hood but finally has gone crazy, the 7 foot center who cannot rebound if his life depends on it, another productive center who enjoys eating on his courtside seat, the 5'3" knucklehead who is a gangsta wannabe with no real basketball skills besides being obnoxious, a power forward who only knows how to score in the low post and does not know how to pass out of a double team just like center #1, a previously-retired sharp shooter who robbed the knicks with a monstrous contract last time in time (but finally wised up and stay retired). all these under a head coach who order his scrub to start fight with other team, the same GM who doesn't care about team chemistry and has a track record of running things into the ground, and an owner who doesn't care what he's paying for.


any way you see this, it's a reality show worthy drama going on all year round. one of them may just lose it during one of the games. good times. recrod wise... who cares? if by some miracle they decided to play as a team, they can sneak into the playoff, but seriously? to quote dr evil, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.



nets:



this is the team that i root for in the east, with the simple reason of them being my old home team and kidd being my favorite player (well him and KG are 1 and 1a for me). him being a Cal alum obviously doesn't hurt either. anyway, dude is now 34 but is probably still the best point in the east. that alone should count for something. however, his body is starting to break down and his production is going to start to drop, though the biggest factor of nets making the playoff is the owner of a brand new contract named vince carter.



once the most electrifying player in the L, vince has now turn into derrick coleman of this generation: still better than 90% of the league but nowhere near his potential. if he brings it at least twice a week, the nets should have no problem making the playoffs. kristic is back and if he can play effectively, giving nets some low post presence, then they'll be in for sure. unlike last year in the weakest division of all time, they are just not going to win the division this time around, so they are gonna have to work hard for a spot.



raptors:



quietly made a lot of noise last year with the newly resembled heavily euro team and bosh as a bonafide franchise player, which also boost the coach of the year and executive of the year. this team definitely has the right mix of players to make even more noise this season. i really haven't watched them enough to comment on how well they will play. the players are all veterans players from overseas so i trust in them. it's the coaching that i will need to watch this season. sounds like fun. raptors/celtics anyone?



i anticipate raptors and celtics are going to battle for division champ. as for playoff, the raptors should have a very good chance of advancing to 2nd round. they are going to be a tough out for whoever they play against, but i reserve the right to say that if everything clicked and there's no injury, this team CAN get to eastern finals. like i said, it's the coaching that i don't believe in, yeah, even with that coach of the year on your bench.



76ers:



andre iguodala is gonna be really entertaining to watch. otherwise this team is shooting for the #1 draft pick. 20 wins would be an accomplishment for them. who's coaching this team again? maurice cheeks? he needs to run a super fast offense to try to get as many alley oops from andre miller to igudrodala. this is the only team in the east that has absolutely NO CHANCE of making the playoff.

home openers for all!

welcome to NBA season openers extravangaza. 13 games tonight, which means 87% of the league's teams are playing.

there must be something in the water tonight. 6ers crushed bulls' home opener party, atlanta won their first home opener in years (against the now lowly regarded Mavs), and pacers defeated heat narrowly. even the wolves were leading the nuggets for most of the game, though denver was able to pull out for a win at the end on the road.

lebron bounce back strongly for 45, 7 boards and 7 assists against the knicks for a win. wearing the celtics green for the first time, KG had a monstrous line of 22 pts, 20 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in an easy win over agent zero's wizard. i think this year's MVP is going to be either one of these two. sorry kobe.

speaking of kobe, let's pick up near the end of suns/lakers' first quarter...

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barbosa layup over kobe's fierce swat. as it turns out he's the only suns who came to play tonight.

lakers on fire. 33-20 end of first quarter. kobe was on a mission early.

bynum has a pretty nice hook. within 10 feet it's going in. he's using this go-to move all night.

marion 3 3s in the 2nd quarter to keep the suns in the game.

radmanovic canned his 2nd 3 right, in front of marion's face again.

lakers are going hard and building a good lead. kobe's getting a good long rest. 44-29.

steve nash is back. within 2 minutes kobe's gonna be back.

radman turnaround hook in the middle of the lane. 11 points!

luke walton a left hand layup! wtf is going on???

okay kwame 3 tries at a layup, blocked by skinner twice, and shot clock expired. at least something still makes sense.

skinner put back on the other end! okay so maybe this game is indeed weird.

pace is quickening up. lakers' gonna be sucked into the suns' tornado.

mo evans took a bad turnaround shot in the lane with all the suns around the area, but somehow dropped in. phil jackson must be pissed he didn't pass out to the laker waiting on top of the 3 point line. lakers up 17 points. my prediction is wrong.

the lakers bench is on fire. i can't say this enough.

walton burned a time out coz he can't inbound the ball. for the 2nd time in this game.

bell pocket 3, kobe made a 20 footer right in bell's face.

i think radman's hair is on vujavic's head.

walton back door cut behind everyone for a reverse lay in. the suns' sleeping.

vujacic a great steal on a pick and roll, but refused to pass it up to walton for a easy dunk. instead it's 2 freethrows. hubie grilled him for being selfish.

nash up top near half court hip checked by radmanovic, lost his balance and the ball. whistle for a foul and ball is dead. nash regained his balance and picked up the ball and launched a 3 towards the basket, which was outside the camera view. all you hear is a swish and the crowd cheering. it was after the whistle so of course the points don't count, but that whole sequence was amazing.

vujacic looked back to the court and hurried past all other lakers into the locker room, with phil and kobe still on the floor. he's about to get chewed out.

rich buchner: "is it fun playing this way?"
kobe actually laughed.

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mean while warriors are putting in a 25-8 run on clippers to end the 1st half for a tie score. baron, azabuke, biedrins, al harrington, monta. the best unit for the warriors right now. until jax is back.

troy hudson, super scatchy voice, warrior, platinum record rapper.

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better espn studio arrangement tonight. bill walton is not in the middle anymore. problem is steven a smith is right in the middle. well, it's either him or stuart scott, who are both wearing pink shirts. their banters are insane, and this tv doesn't have a remote. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

i suppose everyone's betting on a strong phoenix come back, including me, in the 2nd half, but lakers continued to dominate (!!!???) in the 3rd quarter, and just abused them in suns' home opener by scoring 32 to suns' 17 in the quarter. highlight of the quarter is a luke bounced pass through marion's leg for a wide open kobe reverse jam. that was silly.

when it was all set and done, the lakers added another upset special du jour with a 119-98 victory, behind 60+ bench points. great game for the lakers, who seem to be saying "fuck you to kobe, we don't need your selfish ass". all this with phil jackson calling a time out when they were up 26 or so with the 2nd unit in the 4th, and mike d'antoni was furious about that time out. this rivalry is getting better and better.

kobe trade rumor

espn reported a rumor 3 team trade involving kobe going to chicago and big ben and artest going to LA and kings get someone. i thought having big ben and artest may make this trade worthy for the lakers. then i realize that it's more than just basketball with kobe.

keeping kobe in a lakers uniform is a simple business decision: he's a celebrity playing sport. with the fickle LA crowd, the lakers need star power that transcend sports to keep the team relevant in the city. good or bad, as long as there's drama, there's publicity, and that's what the organization wants.

plus whatever team kobe gets traded to will have a depleted roster, which means pretty much same situation he's in with lakers right now, and he'll veto the trade.

so you see, kobe ain't going nowhere.

2nd night games notes - bulls @ nets, sonics @ nuggets

picking up half way through 4th quarter at bulls against nets...

Deng: monstrous offensive rebound. Missed the tough layup. Drew a perfect charge on carter on the way back down. Next trip down, picked carter dribbling down the court and returned for a dunk.

Collins has big ben’s blown out fro. I’m not sure what original big ben, who has his hair in braids tonight, thinks of all this mess.

Carter lost the handle but scooped it up with one hand on a kidd fastbreak bounce pass

Jersey up 7 with 2 minutes to go

Carter shot a fadeaway 3. why?

Deng tipped a rebound from his right hand to his left, then made the layup. He’s gonna be an all star this year.

Out of a time out they draw a play out of time out, Jefferson drive in then kick it to kidd, who air balls the 3

Hinrich drove baseline then kick it top to nocioni who, of course, made the 3.

Just like that. It’s tie 96.

Back the other end, the nets, guess what, got a broken play with carter shooting the fadeaway airball.

Ben Gordon shorts a 3 after a time out. And the original big ben caught it and threw up the ball and missed the rim.

Overtime.

Wright is bailing the nets out more than once. Made a long jumper, then drove in what an impressive layup. Shouldn’t that be what vince carter be doing?

Luoul deng (and the Bulls in general) is causing a lot of deflections.

Kidd just threw it up to the hoop for carter to lay it in. up 3 now.

Impressive play out of a time out by bulls. Hinrich drove baseline, all shooters around the arc on weakside. Simple bounce pass to big ben who was wide open in the middle of the lane for a 2 hand dunk. Nice play skiles.

Jefferson drive right lane for a floater. Kidd steal, vince drove in, Jefferson kick out 3. up 6. then he celebrated by pounding himself in the chest and hurt himself. Pulled a muscle or something. No seriously.

Ben Wallace bricks a freethrow. Made 2nd.

Kristic is back! Anyway, after a bunch of freethrows, nets squeezed out a win. They were lucky they didn’t lose.

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Espn studio is fucking eerie. It’s creepy as hellllll. it's like espn is trying to find a studio combination that rivals the TNT crew, so they put together 3 most ridiculous personalities on their roster for this horror show. aptly debut on halloween night. nightmare lineup.

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the nuggets are just running everyone over this season. once they quicken up the pace of the game, they will just beat you down with their size and athleticism, and all of them can finish. (in fact having too many finishers and not enough facilitators on the team is probably a problem for them.) tonight they are going to ruin the sonics.

transition is the name of the game for them. yet another iverson face up steal and a layup and1. sick.

carmelo shake twice and shot a fadeaway. never moving his pivot the whole time. butter.

durant drove left side down and made a layup over two guys. first field goal of his career. many more to come. he's 6'9" and 215. a stick.

once it's slow down, the lead is cut to 3. well. it's 1 now. and it's not durant doing the damage. it's the team running the offense. which apparently the nuggets can't do.

hubie called out carmelo being the only player in the league to be double team every time down the court. nice.

johan petro travelled, but he was quick enough to do a juke move and made a bank shot from the foul line. pretty impressive for a 7 foot project. delonte west is pretty impressive too. scored some sharp buckets, made good plays with the ball. good thing sonics got him before the wolves did huh?

end of 1st. 32-31 nuggets. the slaughter is overstated? well, let's see how the rest of the quarters go.

nene just made missed another pick and roll layup. shit that he should have dunked in. and a 3rd. he looks like he has as much hang time as me.

west made a 3! he's playing really well tonight.

durant hits his first 3!. he's so lanky that when he fills up he's gonna be massive. missed a few freethrows early on though.

green a turnaround jumper from the post. now sonics are up 4 points. nuggets seem more lost on the court than the sonics do. is that even possible?

durant ran a 4-1 on fast break and dropped it off for a booming one head dunk. 17 point turn around. wtf.

the nuggets are all playing pick up ball and sonics are playing sets.

after a turnover, allen out on a run and finally made a layup. if they can't play sets, they need to feed on steals and blocks, which means they need to play MUCH BETTER DEFENSE. they don't play like a team though. it's usually one pass, stare down, they try to score. everyone just stand around watching. they play like complete strangers. i mean most passes are off target and the receivers are usually not in position to catch them. i know it's the first game of the season but the other team is playing with more cohesiveness and poise, and that team basically just got together this summer.

finally some signs of life by the nuggets, AI drove in a continuation floater. then passed ahead to kenyon for a dunk. can't finish the half correctly though. somehow with the starting lineup on the court, diawara was the one who took the last shot of the half. who's diawara? exactly my point. 63-62 nuggs.

back from the half. denver going on a nice run. carmelo 2 3s. already 26 points. nuggs up 10 now.

wilcox post up. west cut in for a layup. where's the nuggets' D?

west lopped up to durant for an alley oop layup. 8-0 run just like that.

west another double clutch twisting layup past the defense. super quick dude. came back and picked pocket for a easy dunk to take the lead. time out nuggets.

carmelo a release layup to iverson. he's super duper quick.

last play of the quarter, sonics had the ball with shot clock off, someone took a shot, najera grabbed the board and flipped it upcourt for melo to catch. with time running out, melo caught it and shot it in the air around the 3 point line and almost made it. that would have been a play of the year. possibly one of those career highlight clips.

najera 3 pointer, then drew a charge on the other end. two defensive stops later, he ran out on a break and finished a dunk that bounced out and bounced in.

iverson just had his 6th steal and feed to kleiza for this 14th assist of the game. you can still neatpick on his shot selection sometimes, but he's putting his footprint all over this game. he drove left baseline, ducked under for an and-1 layup, came back and picked west right in front of him again! 7th steal of the game. his fantasy owners are so happy they are crying right now. some guards don't get 7 steals a month. they just show a graphic showing AI's first career game was 30 points. THIRTY FUCKING POINTS!!! he musta pissed a lot of people off.

robert swift looks AWESOME. long orange samurai hair. good stuff. luke ridnour grew more of his hair out. looks like a golden mop on top of his head.

final score 120-101. not exactly a 20 point blow out. wait. the sonics just let the inbounded ball rolled to midcourt before taking it up real quick for a last second bucket. wtf was that? alright final final score 120-103.