Sonics Learn That Rockets Don’t Die Easily

Someone asked Clyde Drexler in the locker room Sunday how the Rockets will fit into history, now that their reign as two-time defending NBA champion is over.

Drexler, however, would not bite.

“Hold on now,” he said. “Put away your shovel. We’re still living. Don’t write the history books yet. Hopefully we’re going to have the opportunity to do it again.”

Of course, it won’t be this year. The chance to win the 1996 NBA title now belongs to the Sonics, not the Rockets.

The Sonics swept the Rockets in their Western Conference semifinal series and are now four more wins away from the NBA Finals.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this season’s Sonics, besides the fact that they are really quite good, is they are willing to learn from their mistakes. This year’s Sonics withstand pressure instead of bowing to it, like the old Sonics might have.

In Game 4 Sunday, the Sonics absorbed another whammy. It was a test that made Gary Payton’s mind race, since it came in the final 10 minutes of regulation.

“I was thinking: ‘Why don’t you all just die?”’ Payton said about the Rockets’ amazing comeback.

It should have been mop-up time for the Sonics, who had staked themselves to a 20-point lead. Steve Scheffler should have been checking in at point guard. Instead, Payton himself was scrambling for a way out of the mess.

Robert Horry and Sam Cassell, whose longballs had been dormant all afternoon, were suddenly knocking down 3-pointers to close the gap.

And the Sonics - who for three quarters-plus had controlled the tone and tempo with nearly perfect execution - were suddenly missing free throws and coughing up the ball like it was covered in butter.

The Rockets were surging. The Summit was rocking. And Payton was wondering what it was going to take to finish this up and get the heck out of Dodge.

“We played conservative. We thought if we were up 20 points we could play conservative instead of attacking the ball. Then I went and missed a lot of easy shots and layups and things that we wouldn’t normally miss,” Payton said.

“They had me going. I’m like ‘God, every time they come down they do something different.’ They’d make a 3 or make a shot or throw something up. The crowd was getting into it. All of a sudden they’re right back into the game. They were like a vampire you try to stab in the heart 18 times and he still won’t go down.”

The Sonics escaped one last furious run from a champion, though not without some sweat and concern before finally getting it done, 114-107, in overtime.

Payton almost kicked himself because he made the mistake that sent the game into overtime.

With 4 seconds left and the Sonics leading, 101-98, Payton dropped off Sam Cassell to double-team Hakeem Olajuwon down in the post. Olajuwon read it and promptly kicked the ball out to Cassell, who buried the trey to tie the game.

“It was my fault. We weren’t supposed to do that. I messed that play up and it almost cost us,” said Payton, demonstrating the Sonics’ new level of accountability.

“As soon as I left, when I couldn’t go back out, that’s when I knew. I said ‘They need three (points) here, why am I going to double him? He’s going to get a two. I should let him have a two. And when he went up and down, he kicked it out and I knew (Cassell) was going to hit it. He hit it and it was one of those things I messed up on. Luckily, we came back.”

That is the key to remember here. The Sonics did come back in overtime. Shawn Kemp hit free throws and Hersey Hawkins stole the ball and drove for the final layup to secure the win.

The Sonics withstood a final, furious test from a champion. They did not sink or scurry to blame or let their minds drift in between regulation and overtime, like the old Sonics.

Much will be made of the Sonics’ clean sweep over the Rockets. Two wins in Seattle and two games stolen at the Summit.

What won’t necessarily be remembered, however, is that the Rockets provided a nice service for the Sonics. The Rockets were good teachers. They were good role models.

Except for Game 1, which was a TV-induced blowout because NBC had to have Michael Jordan for prime time two Sundays ago, the Rockets were not easy foils for the Sonics.

Though mismatched against the Sonics, who shut down Olajuwon and who ran their string of consecutive wins against the Rockets to 13, the Rockets were still the defending champs. And champions do not get dethroned without a good fight.

That’s how the fourth quarter of Game 4 should be remembered. A good fight that will serve as another lesson for the smarter, more mature and respectful Sonics.

Maybe the Sonics let up on the throttle. But the defending champions were there to make the Sonics pay, seizing the opportunity to go out like champions.

“We gave them life and I can’t say enough for them. They played hard,” Sonics veteran Sam Perkins said. “They gave us a hard series. Each game was so different that to win, we had to overcome and do it in different ways.”

This is the lesson the Sonics will carry into the next round. It’s a good one, just like the handy lesson Sacramento provided the Sonics back in the first round. That gut-checking loss in Game 2 to the Kings prepared them for the Rockets.

“You can’t keep a championship team down by 20 points the whole game,” Kemp said. “The NBA doesn’t work that way for anybody. The thing is, you have to keep your composure. You have to keep your head, have the right attitude, the right focus to withstand what they give you. They challenged us.”

And the Sonics braced, regrouped and withstood the challenge.

That’s the story of 1996, so far.