A new AD article

[Metz]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/s ... ide13.html

Aggressiveness from Antonio Daniels is "the difference"

By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter

He's the one Sonic with a ring. The one guy who understands what it's like to win in May.

So when it mattered most last night, when the Sonics had to get something done or their season essentially would be over, they inevitably turned to reserve guard Antonio Daniels.

And Daniels, who won an NBA title with the same Spurs team that now stands in Seattle's way, came through as well as he has all season, scoring 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Sonics beat San Antonio 92-91 in Game 3 of their second-round NBA playoff series.

Eight of Daniels' fourth-quarter points came at the free-throw line, including six in the last 3:34. His two free throws with 2:58 left tied the score, then he hit two more with 1:59 remaining to put the Sonics ahead 92-89.

"He played big," said Sonics coach Nate McMillan. "He was absolutely big tonight. He was very aggressive on the pick-and-rolls. And when he got to the middle of the floor he made good decisions. He played like a veteran tonight. He was the difference, I think, in the game tonight."

Daniels, who won a title with the Spurs in 1999, shed all credit afterward, mostly refusing to address his own play during postgame interviews.

But his wife, Sonia, knows better.

"Oh yeah, definitely," she said with a big nod when asked if playing the Spurs meant a lot to her husband.

Daniels was on the floor for the final play when Tim Duncan's shot went awry. As the horn finally blew, Daniels looked in Sonia's direction and gave a fist pump and blew a kiss, a ritual that dates to the beginning of his NBA days.

He knew the stakes of this one.

"It would have been very tough if we had lost this one and realized we had to beat them four straight times," Daniels said.

So Daniels helped set an aggressive tone from the beginning.

He had eight points off the bench in the second quarter as the Sonics came back from two 10-point deficits that looked as if they might bury them for good. He hit two free throws with 52.8 seconds left that tied the score at 47 and completed a 20-10 run that got the Sonics back in the game.

Daniels was scoreless in the third quarter, which ended with the score tied at 75.

But he scored on a driving layin just 17 seconds into the fourth quarter to put Seattle ahead. Then his free-throw barrage began with 9:46 left in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 79.

Daniels got to the line eight times in the fourth quarter, getting fouled again and again on aggressive drives to the hoop.

"You just have to try and attack the rim and get them to foul you," he said. "And when you get fouled, you've got to be ready to knock them down."

Easier said than done in the pressure of the playoffs, as the Spurs found out.

While Daniels was hitting all eight of his free-throw attempts, the Spurs were missing exactly that many in 16 attempts.

That difference at the free-throw line ultimately was the decider in the game.

Asked what he was thinking at the line, Daniels said, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. You just have to try to step up to the line and knock them down."

Daniels did, in the process also knocking down any thoughts — on this night, anyway — that the Sonics' season was over.

[Falconboy]

Yeah AD, show the Spurs the erorr of their ways by getting rid of you! This has been a great chance for Antonio to showcase his skills. At San Antonio he just never got in good playing rythym before. Now he's poised to take over a pg spot for good somewhere , whether its at Sonics or at maybabe Cleveland if McMillan goes there.

[Metz]

or at maybabe Cleveland

I'd love to see AD move to Cleveland. I have yet to see him play an NBA game and that would be my opportunity!!

[TG1996]

Did I miss something with all this talk about McMillan going to Cleveland? While the allure of coaching one of the league's best might be bright, what does the mess of a Cavs situation have over the Sonics? Same market size roughly, and he's got the Sonics in the Western Conference semis. Unless there's a tie to NE Ohio that I'm missing, it seems like that would be one of the more unlikely possibilities for a Cavs replacement.