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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Fortson provides muscle for Sonics


Seattle point guard Luke Ridnour, left, ties up the ball with Utah's Gordan Giricek.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Corey Brock Tacoma News-Tribune

SEATTLE – Danny Fortson nearly made it to the finish line on Wednesday at KeyArena, which would have qualified as a rare and unusual deed for the SuperSonics forward. Prone to foul trouble, Fortson is usually planted on the bench in the waning minutes of games, left to watch his teammates make plays at pivotal times of the game.

Such wasn’t the case in the Sonics 129-119 overtime victory over the Jazz before a crowd of 16,006, who serenaded Fortson with cheers after he left the court with 29 seconds left in overtime. Fortson didn’t lead the Sonics in scoring, rebounding, assists or anything substantial statistically. But his value was immeasurable.

Fortson’s putback basket with 2 minutes, 59 seconds left in overtime ignited a 15-4 closing run for the Sonics (14-3) who rallied just to get the game to overtime.

It was Fortson’s defense on Utah’s Carlos Boozer – who scored a season-high 36 points, 24 of which came in the second half – that proved pivotal as well.

“He was huge for us,” Seattle point guard Luke Ridnour said of Fortson, who scored eight points and had nine rebounds in 29 minutes. “… He is our enforcer.”

That’s Fortson’s role – doing the little things. As for Ray Allen’s role?

That’s scoring in bunches, which he did against the Jazz, scoring 38 points, including nine in overtime to make sure the Sonics avoided their first losing streak of the young season as well as helping Seattle remain undefeated in games at KeyArena (8-0).

Allen and Antonio Daniels drilled consecutive 3-pointers in overtime to turn a one-point game into a 124-117 Sonics advantage. The Jazz (8-8) never recovered.

“We were scrappy and we made plays,” Seattle coach Nate McMillan said. “We played hard. I didn’t see any quit in this team. It was a very gutty performance.”

It had to be, given the Sonics predicament in the waning moments of the fourth quarter. The Sonics trailed 110-107 with 18.2 seconds left in regulation, but after a Seattle timeout, Daniels inbounded the ball to Allen, who couldn’t get a shot off. No matter. He found a wide-open Vladimir Radmanovic, who got open only after getting Boozer in the air on a ball fake. That move gave Radmanovic, who finished with 21 points including 4 of 8 from 3-point range, an open look at a 3-pointer that he knocked down with 10.5 seconds remaining.