McMillan wins in first trip back to KeyArena

Welcome home, Nate McMillan.

The Sonics greeted their former coach and player, the one who spent 12 years in uniform and six on the sideline before leaving for hated rival Portland, with a five-minute video tribute that celebrated his decorated past.

Before Monday's 116-111 Trail Blazers victory in front of 15,622 at KeyArena, McMillan downplayed the idea that his new team would play harder for him because of the magnitude of the moment. But his players appeared to understand the importance of this game for their coach.

"I would be lying if I said that it [wasn't] special," McMillan said. "Any time that a player or a coach leaves an organization, you come back and you want to win. ... These guys came out and did what we asked them. They were pumped for me and I thought the guys were really playing this game for me.

"It has been hard to get a read on these guys, so I really couldn't tell in the locker room how they felt. But once they started, you saw them celebrate for me. You know, it was special."

McMillan's new team dominated his old one in the middle, claiming a 47-33 advantage in rebounds and collecting 20 offensive rebounds, which largely explains why Portland scored 29 second-chance points.

With Portland's Steve Blake keeping close tabs on Luke Ridnour and curtailing Seattle's fast-break game, the Blazers constantly fed their post players a series of passes and were rewarded with a monster game from forward Zach Randolph, who finished with a game-high 32 points and nine rebounds.

"We just couldn't do anything with Randolph," Sonics coach Bob Hill said. "Vladimir [Radmanovic] couldn't stop him. We doubled him and came from two different directions. When we did that it left the board open so I went to Nick [Collison] and I thought he did OK.

"We got him [Randolph] to miss and then the board was open. So I thought I'd give Reggie [Evans] a chance to play him by himself. But the biggest problem we had all night long was the offensive boards. We got shots contested but we just got manhandled, I think, for the first time."

Blazers center Joel Przybilla had 13 points and eight rebounds, Juan Dixon chipped in 15 points, and forward Ruben Patterson had 14 off the bench.

"When a person is gone, watching the montage, you realize how long he was here in a Sonic uniform," said Ray Allen, who missed his first five shots before finishing with 26 points, including four three-pointers. "He did a lot of great things, played in a lot of big games, and played with some of the best players to put on a Sonic uniform. He definitely left his mark on the city."

It was difficult to discern McMillan's impact on the game.

"I kind of thought that we felt [nervous] because in the first half we tried too hard," Hill said. "We tried to play together, but at times we tried to play together too much. How much of that was because of Nate I don't know."

From the start, it was clear that McMillan's intent was to put pressure on Allen, who had six turnovers, and attack Seattle's interior defense of Radmanovic, Robert Swift and Johan Petro.

"I just couldn't get anything going after picking up two quick fouls," said Radmanovic, who finished with five points on 2-for-7 shooting and two rebounds. "Once that happens, it takes you out of the game, not just physically, but mentally."

Without Radmanovic, the Sonics turned to Rashard Lewis, who led them with 27 points and five assists. Ridnour added 14 points and 10 assists, and Damien Wilkins had 11 points.

Seattle trailed 58-57 at the half and was behind 84-82 at the start of the fourth. The Blazers then took control to lead 100-89.

Allen attempted to bring the Sonics back with a three-pointer that cut Seattle's deficit to 104-99 with 1:16 left. But on the next possession, Randolph scored on a putback. The Sonics' inability to grab rebounds plagued them again when a missed free throw from Jarrett Jack sailed over Swift and Lewis and was collected by Theo Ratliff.

"In the second half, they got so many second-chance opportunities that we couldn't really run," Allen said. "We played good defense on the first possession and not concluding it with a rebound, they took us out of what we were trying to do. You can't win ... like that."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com