Finally! Sonics Vindicate Past Flops

This time there was confetti instead of confusion at KeyArena. There were cheers instead of silence. The SuperSonics have been vindicated. The team that couldn’t win The Big Game in the past came up big Sunday and will advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1979.

After fumbling away Game 5 in Seattle on Tuesday and then drop-kicking Game 6 at Utah, the SuperSonics recovered to become the Western Conference champions. They defeated the Utah Jazz 90-86, using poise in the stretch to produce a hard-fought victory that is symbolic of this team’s personality makeover this season.

“I have never felt like this,” said Sonics coach George Karl, experiencing NBA Finals jubilation in June rather than opening-round humiliation in May.

“Those 13 guys in that locker room deserve this more than anybody in America, and I’m just happy they got it.”

The Sonics held up under pressure, and it was the Jazz who collapsed. Shawn Kemp, the man who can be turnover- and foul-prone, was flawless. His counterpart, Karl Malone, usually solid in these situations, was shaky.

Hersey Hawkins, criticized for allowing Utah’s Jeff Hornacek to make such a difference in this series, hounded and stifled the Jazz shooting guard Sunday.

And Gary Payton shined again. Although Utah’s John Stockton accounted for himself for the second straight time, Payton’s team won the game and the series.

As anticipated, the outcome was not determined until the final 2 minutes. Kemp culminated his captivating performance with two perfect trips to the free-throw line, enabling the Sonics to escape a pair of Utah thrusts that inched the Jazz within one point.

Twice fouled as he moved into the lane from the low post, Kemp took two trips to the line and will have another to Chicago as a result of going 4 for 4 in the last 1:17.

With 13.9 seconds remaining, he made his final pair to give the Sonics an 89-86 lead, and it was dramatically appropriate that Malone was fouled on Utah’s next possession. Needing a 3 to tie, the Jazz tried for a quick 2, but scored nothing.

Amid a boisterous backdrop, Malone blew both free throws, and Hawkins, in another fitting development because of his impact, came up with the rebound and the game-sealing free throw after being fouled with 7 seconds left.

When the game ended, the celebration began. After leaving the court, the Sonics returned for a curtain call. Their next encore will be in Chicago, but no one was in a hurry to talk about the Bulls just yet. The Sonics wanted to savor a conference title that seemed to be in their grasp last Tuesday when the Jazz twice postponed the party.

In the locker room, Detlef Schrempf embraced Payton, and there were hugs all around. The Sonics put on their Western Conference champion hats and T-shirts to go with the smiles they already were wearing.

“I’m feeling so good right now, I don’t know how to explain it,” said Nate McMillan, the most veteran Sonics player, suffering from an irritated sciatic nerve in his back that wasn’t so bothersome for the moment.

Sam Perkins, who supplied 10 points off the bench, was actually animated. There was expression on his face. Cool was replaced with giddy.

“I’m just so happy right now,” Perkins said. “We’ve been through so much the past two years that it seemed like we’d never get to this point. Now we’re going to the big show. This day makes it all worthwhile.”

Karl, the coach who undoubtedly would have been fired if the Sonics had lost their first-round series to Sacramento, now finds himself at the peak of his career and in line for a new contract.

The Jazz were a tough nut, but the Sonics never cracked. In the second half, when the collars and the game got tighter, Seattle connected on several tough shots, an indication that this team didn’t intend to gag this time.

Payton nailed a fadeaway jumper from the baseline over Stockton and Malone, and early in the fourth quarter Schrempf drained a 20-footer with Malone in his face and a 3-pointer over the flailing David Benoit.

Schrempf’s trey placed the Sonics firmly in front 85-77, but typically the Jazz found one more flurry. Stockton’s shot from the lane looked like a kernel in a popcorn popper, but it finally went through the net, capping a 7-0 run that brought the Jazz to 85-84.

But with the game and Kemp on the line, the Sonics weathered the surge and prevailed.

“That’s what you practice for,” Kemp said. “Every player dreams of getting a chance to drain free throws to win a game. I’m glad they fell down.”

Finally, the Jazz did too, largely because of the disparity between Kemp and Malone. In the past, Kemp has struggled in his matchup with the Mailman, frustrated by Malone’s quick hands. But on Sunday, he arguably became the best power forward in the West after going 8 for 12 from the field, scoring 22 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.

Malone countered with 22 points, but it took him 22 shots to get there, and he made only eight. He missed his first five shots and all five he flung up in the third quarter.

SuperSonics 90, Jazz 86

FG FT Reb UTAH Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Malone 45 8-22 6-12 0-5 7 4 22 Morris 12 1-3 0-0 0-1 1 0 3 Spencer 13 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 3 2 Hornacek 40 3-10 4-6 1-3 4 2 10 Stockton 44 9-15 2-3 3-8 7 3 22 Foster 18 2-3 0-0 0-2 1 2 4 Russell 36 3-10 5-5 1-4 2 3 13 Eisley 4 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 Carr 19 2-3 0-0 1-3 0 6 4 Keefe 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Benoit 8 2-2 0-0 0-2 0 0 6 Totals 240 31-69 17-26 6-30 22 23 86 Percentages: FG .449, FT .654.

3-Point Goals: 7-14, .500 (Benoit 2-2, Stockton 2-4, Russell 2-6, Morris 1-1, Hornacek 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 11.

Blocked shots: 1 (Benoit).

Turnovers: 14 (Malone 4, Stockton 3, Hornacek 2, Morris, Russell, Eisley, Carr, Benoit).

Steals: 7 (Stockton 4, Russell 2, Malone).

Technical fouls: Foster, 8:13 second.

Illegal defense: 1.

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Kemp 42 8-12 10-11 1-14 1 3 26 Schrempf 38 6-9 1-2 0-4 2 4 15 Johnson 11 0-3 0-0 1-1 1 1 0 Hawkins 35 3-5 6-8 0-2 3 3 14 Payton 45 9-17 2-6 2-6 5 3 21 Perkins 34 4-8 0-0 1-4 1 3 10 Askew 18 1-2 0-0 0-3 1 2 2 McMillan 12 1-3 0-0 0-0 2 2 2 Brickowski 5 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 3 0 Totals 240 32-59 19-27 5-36 16 24 90 Percentages: FG .542, FT .704.

3-Point Goals: 7-20, .350 (Schrempf 2-4, Hawkins 2-4, Perkins 2-5, Payton 1-4, Askew 0-1, McMillan 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 4.

Blocked shots: 3 (Hawkins 2, Payton).

Turnovers: 18 (Payton 5, Kemp 3, Schrempf 3, Johnson 2, Hawkins 2, Askew, McMillan, Brickowski).

Steals: 7 (Hawkins 2, Kemp, Johnson, Payton, Askew, McMillan).

Technical fouls: Illegal defense, 6:02 third; Illegal defense, 5:11 fourth; Illegal defense, 3:29 fourth.

Illegal defense: 1.

Utah 21 20 26 19 - 86

Seattle 21 23 29 17 - 90

A-17,072 (17,072). T-2:32.