SuperSonics Left Hurting

Not having to deal much with Ray Allen or Vladimir Radmanovic made things much easier for the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.

Not having those two key players could make future playoff games a lot tougher for the Seattle SuperSonics.

San Antonio already had a double-digit lead when the SuperSonics lost Allen and Radmanovic to right ankle sprains in the second quarter. After that, the Spurs’ lead reached 30 points before halftime in a 103-81 victory in the opener of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

Seattle Coach Nate McMillan said X-rays were negative for both players and they would be listed as day to day. Game 2 is Tuesday night.

“I don’t want to even think about not having Ray Allen right now,” said Seattle center Jerome James, adding that if Allen can’t play, “I am more than ready to step up and play like I did in the last series.”

Neither Allen nor Radmanovic was in the locker room after the game.

The injuries occurred in a span of less than a minute early in the second quarter, and the Spurs took advantage by going on a 17-2 run that made it 58-28 with about two minutes left in the half.

Allen, an All-Star who averaged 32.4 points in the SuperSonics’ first-round series win over Sacramento, was hurt while driving to the basket.

“He means to them what Timmy [Duncan] means to us,” said Spur Coach Gregg Popovich. “He’s huge and makes the whole team confident.”

Radmanovic rolled his ankle while defending Brent Barry and had to be carried from the court by teammates.

Rashard Lewis, who led the SuperSonics with 19 points, said the team has to step up its defense -- with or without Allen in the lineup.

“We are playing a championship team, so we have to get it done on the defensive end,” Lewis said.

Tony Parker matched his career playoff high with 29 points for the Spurs, 11 of them coming in the first quarter.

“The first game against Denver was a great wake-up call for us,” said Parker of their lone loss in the opening-round series. “I wanted to make sure that, as a team, we didn’t make the same mistake.”

Duncan had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs, who shot 51%. Glenn Robinson scored 16 points.

Parker didn’t waste any time delivering on his promise to attack the Seattle defense.

He drove inside for San Antonio’s first three baskets. Ten of the Spurs’ 12 field goals in the first quarter were layups, and Duncan had a dunk.

San Antonio led by 13 when Radmanovic rolled his ankle. Radmanovic had suffered a stress fracture in his lower right leg in March and sat out the final 19 games of the regular season. He played in all five first-round games against Sacramento, averaging 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds.