Smooth Moves -- Perkins' Finals Experience And 20 Points Power Sonics

SALT LAKE CITY - If he were a drink, he'd be as smooth as 12-year-old scotch, as cool as a lemonade in the dead of summer, and as potent as moonshine.

The Seattle SuperSonics know all about this magical elixir. When the heat is on, and the throats and offense bone dry, Big Smooth is their usual.

"Big Smooth," Sonic forward Shawn Kemp said of teammate Sam Perkins, "he always comes through at the end, no matter what."

Yesterday was one of those no-matter-what kind of days. No home crowd, almost no Shawn Kemp and nearly no fourth-quarter offense. That was the kind of daunting obstacle course Perkins navigated the Sonics through to an 88-86 victory over the Utah Jazz that put them on the verge of the NBA Finals.

With 3:30 to play, the buckets were as rare as Buddhists in this Mormon stronghold. Trailing by one, the Sonics dumped the ball inside to Kemp. As soon as he sniffed a double-team, he snapped the ball out to Perkins, positioned beyond the three-point arc.

Need we say more?

"Sam broke us through with that big three," Sonic point guard Gary Payton said, "and we were rolling from there."

There is something to be said about traveling a road with someone who has been there before. The journey is just that much easier.

And more than his crunch-time courage and his opportunistic bent, Perkins' familiarity with the thoroughfare to the NBA Finals is paying off for the Sonics.

"Sam has played with great players before," Utah's Karl Malone said of Perkins, who led the Sonics with 20 points. "Now he's the guy who knows what he's talking about and he's stepped up."

The last time Perkins journeyed this far with the Sonics, the trip began here in 1993, with him stooped over the prone body of ex-Jazz center Mike Brown, gesturing and posturing.

So far, Perkins has not resorted to such an outrageous outburst, but he has come close. He has been, well, emotional. And to a Sonic crew accustomed to something very different, it's been tantamount to watching Mr. Rogers bust into rhyme.

"I've never seen him this intense, emotionally, in the locker room and timeouts and practices," Sonic Coach George Karl said. "He's the only guy on the team who's been to the Finals. He knows he wants to get back. At times, Sam is so out of character. I think it's because he knows where he's at."

That almost goes without saying.

"One game away," said Perkins, who played in the 1991 NBA Finals with the Lakers. "To relish on that alone, you have to be somewhat emotional. With all the things we've been through all weekend, you have to let it out.

"I scream, but then I catch myself. I do it in my own quiet way because I have to stay focused."

That's a prerequisite with the Sonics. With them, the scenery constantly changes, presenting yet another bend in the road. One has to remain collected and ready.

Like late in the first half, when Kemp drew his third foul with the Sonics clinging to a one-point lead. Perkins immediately hit a three-pointer. Then he added a turnaround jumper from an impossible angle almost behind the glass, drew a foul from Greg Foster and sank the free throw.

It almost didn't matter that Kemp labored in foul trouble throughout the contest. He and Perkins each hit four of five shots and combined for 25 points in the first half. Perkins had picked up where Kemp left off, and didn't have to be told to do so.

"It's just a player's feeling," Perkins said. "When you get in the game and don't see yourself as the pivotal player, it just flows."

Nothing really flowed for either team on a herky-jerky, defensive-oriented afternoon. Reprising their offensive performance in Game 3, the Sonics went the first 6:17 of the fourth quarter without a field goal. Meanwhile, behind a blizzard of buckets from Malone (25 points), the Jazz came all the way back from what had been a 12-point deficit.

Perkins' three-pointer, with 3:29 left, seemed to relax the Sonics. Kemp downed a pair of free throws, Hersey Hawkins drove the lane to draw John Stockton and passed the ball to Payton for a corner jumper, then Payton knifed into the lane for a layup. And, faster than you can say Chicago Bulls, it was over.

Everyone in the Sonic locker room afterward knew the result stemmed from a belief in Sam Perkins that grows more unshakeable as the stakes climb.

"I don't know where the belief is, but I believe in myself," Perkins said. "I have confidence when I go out there. It may not happen all the time, I just know when I feel it. You have to take chances, you have to take shots. You never know, if you don't."