RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- Antonio McDyess of the Denver Nuggets played the
way he felt.
|  | | Nuggets forward Antonio McDyess targets the basket over Seattle's Jelani McCoy. |
McDyess had 37 points and 17 rebounds and led the Nuggets to a
103-92 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Saturday night.
"I feel unstoppable," said McDyess.
McDyess has 77 points and 37 rebounds in his last two games for the
Nuggets, who won for the sixth time in seven home games and beat
Seattle for only the fourth time in 18 meetings.
Voshon Lenard added 22 points for the Nuggets.
"Mac is in a zone right now," Denver coach Dan Issel said.
"Even when they started double-teaming him, he is passing out of
the double-team better than he ever has."
McDyess followed up his 40-point, 20-rebound game on Thursday
with 16-for-26 shooting and for his ninth double-double of the
year. He was 6-for-6 in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets improved
to 7-0 when holding an opponent under 100 points.
"I'm getting the ball and I'm making a lot happen," said
McDyess. "I'm thinking better and not taking stupid fouls, so I
can play my game."
Rashard Lewis led Seattle with 26 points and was 4-for-7 on
3-pointers. Gary Payton and Emanuel Davis had 14 points each for
the Sonics, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.
"You'll never win a game giving up 21 second opportunities on
the offensive boards," Seattle coach Nate McMillan said. "They
just outworked us by sending their big men to the boards. We can't
get beat like that."
McDyess had 14 points in the first quarter when the Nuggets
built a 30-19 lead. The combination of nine first-half turnovers
and shooting a chilling 38 percent was enough for the Sonics to
fall behind, 55-41, by halftime.
Seattle made a brief run to start the third quarter with four
points from Patrick Ewing and three from Jelani McCoy to get within
57-48. McDyess responded with a fadeaway over Ewing. McDyess hit
another jump shot after tipping in a shot for the Sonics, credited
to McCoy, as part of an 8-2 run that gave the Nuggets a 69-57 edge.
Seattle closed the quarter with an 8-1 run with baskets off the
break by Payton and Ruben Patterson to get within 70-65.
"We got mixed up and tried to change defenses," Issel said.
"We don't do a very good job of changing things in the course of
the game, but we were fortunate that McDyess came back in and
helped us put together some runs."
The Sonics went cold for nearly three minutes in the fourth
quarter before Payton's short jumper. Denver took advantage as
McDyess hit three shots and the Nuggets took an 80-70 lead.
Brent Barry and Emanuel Davis hit 3-pointers to keep Denver's
lead at 10 points, 86-76. Nick Van Exel, who dished 20 assists, hit a layup and free throw,
and Lenard added a jumper to build Denver's lead to 91-76 with 5:27
left.
"It isn't enough that we struggled," said Payton, who logged 47
minutes. "We're not in good enough shape for the style Nate wants
us to play."
Game notes
Seattle's Vin Baker sat out with a sore right knee. ...
Payton started his 333rd consecutive game, the longest active
streak in the NBA. ... The Sonics are 2-1 since McMillan
replaced Paul Westphal. ... The Nuggets activated forward Ryan
Bowen and placed center Terry Davis on the injured list with a
tendinitis in his right Achilles. ... At 9-8, Denver is off to its
best start since 1994-95 when they were 10-7. ... Van Exel had a
season-high 20 assists, but was only 2-for-7 shooting and 0-for-3
shooting 3-pointers.
|
|
NBA Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 101
Milwaukee 94
Charlotte 94
Utah 89
Philadelphia 112
Cleveland 78
Orlando 95
New Jersey 74
New York 100
Minnesota 90
Miami 93
Washington 90
Portland 96
Houston 85
Denver 103
Seattle 92
Dallas 97
Golden State 78
|
