<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SAN ANTONIO ? There's a scene in the film "Hoosiers" when Gene Hackman, who plays the basketball coach of the tiny Indiana high-school boys team, has one of his players measure the distance between the rim and the floor before their state-championship game inside a cavernous arena. The small-town boys team was accustomed to more intimate surroundings and had never played in a setting that was so awe-inspiring. It's a poignant moment in the movie, and cinematic proof that basketball is basketball no matter where it's played. Sitting courtside inside an empty SBC Center after yesterday's workout, Ray Allen, the Sonics' resident thespian and film buff, waxed philosophically about the seemingly impossible task facing his team. It had been less than 24 hours since he guided them to an improbable 101-89 Game 4 thrashing of the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals without two of Seattle's top three scorers. </div> Source
