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SEATTLE – It was not Kevin Durant Night. But that was, in almost every sense of the word.
The basketball game, which crushed the Sacramento Kings thinned 122 to 94, was rather rudimentary for a team of warriors accustomed to winning at a historically high rate. They came, they destroyed and they took a night bus to the airport and take the plane to Oakland.
What they left behind, however, are Friday night memories that will last for years and an emphatic plea to the NBA, that they could echo until their request be satisfied.
Put the Seattle SuperSonics, the team that drafted Durant 11 years ago, back on the NBA card.
"The message has been sent over the last 11 years," Durant said. "There is still support for the Sonics in NBA arenas across the country. All over the world, so many people know the Sonics culture and that's something the NBA can not ignore. Tonight it was a little icing on the cake, to say, "Hey, look, man. We deserve a team here. We will support a team and they must bring back one. & # 39;
"We will continue to say it until that happens, all of us here, everyone in this arena. Every player in the NBA knows it. So, hopefully, the NBA is doing what it is supposed to do. "
The Sonics have released a long list of franchise and city personalities, from the Bill Russell Hall of Fame and Gary Payton to Spencer Haywood and Jamal Crawford, to Brandon Roy and Sue Bird, to Pete Carroll, and Russell Wilson, Robinson Cano and rapper Macklemore.
They wanted to make a statement that, in the minds of many, should not be made.
"All longtime league players have a soft spot for Seattle, because of the franchise's history, the beauty and the radiance of the city," said the Warriors' head coach, Steve Kerr. "It does not seem fair that the Sonics are not part of the NBA."
The Sonics moved after the 2007-08 season, Durant's rookie year. He has only played this season in Seattle, but local fans clearly continue to follow him and still consider him one of theirs.
His pre-game surprise did not hurt.
Durant was the last member of the Warriors to be introduced and while he was getting up to join his teammates on the field, he took off his Warriors tracksuit jacket to reveal a Shawn Kemp Sonic reminder jersey.
The rumor in the building blew up the walls.
"I'm not really addicted to surprises and all that stuff," Durant said. "But I thought it would be cool if I had just honored one of the legends of the past. I thought fans would enjoy it and they liked it. So I'm glad it's happening like this. "
During that time he marveled in this enchanting environment, the opposite of the treatment that he gets when traveling back and forth to Oklahoma City, where he and the Sonics moved in the summer of 2008 It was obvious to watch him play and hear about a real fondness of the region and a sincere appreciation for this crowd (17,074) at KeyArena.
Although his emotions were at the beginning, he settled down and finished with 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds in 26 minutes.
"I did not feel like I was in the game until the second quarter," Durant said.
"I feel that everything was about me. It was really weird. It's only cool for tonight; I would not want that another night. But it was really weird. It took me some time to refocus and try to improve and realize that it was only a pre-season game. Everyone was pumped. "
Durant was particularly touched by the presence of Lorin "Big Lo" Sandretzky, a surfer from Seattle, known to have stoked the Seahawks crowd at CenturyLink Field, opposite downtown.
Sandretzky often met the team at the airport after returning from a tour.
"It was so good to see him and hug him," Durant said. "He told me that I missed him. He loved me and I am one of the best. And I thought, "man, that's what I feel for you."
That's what Seattle seems to feel about Durant. That's what everyone in the Warriors locker room seemed to feel about Seattle, as if they wanted to come back – and take the rest of the NBA with them.
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