The Seattle Supersonics used a big first quarter to take a commanding lead over the Sacramento Kings which they never relinquished during a 101-99 victory this evening at Key Arena. The Sonics opened the game with an 18-4 run and did not trail, though the Kings used a solid second half effort to close the gap to as narrow as 100-99 at one point.

Sacramento had posession with a chance to take a lead with just under a minute left, but Vin Baker came up with a crucial block on a layup attempt from King reserve Jaime Watson. The Sonics came the other way and maintained posession on a pair of offensive rebounds, saving critical time. After a Sacramento miss, Rashard Lewis gathered the rebound and was fouled with 15.7 seconds left. He made one of two free throws, meaning the Kings still had a chance to tie or take the lead. However, with under five seconds remaining, Brent Barry stole the ball from Hedo Turkoglu. Equally importantly, he worked the ball upcourt, meaning the Sonics were able to run out the clock without giving the Kings a chance to foul.

It was the third Sonic pre-season game thus far that came down to the final play, with the Sonics coming up just short at Denver and at Memphis. However, in a twist from those games, the Sonics had their starting lineup minus Calvin Booth in for the final six minutes this evening. The Kings used largely third team players, with Turkoglu the only player who saw significant playing time last season.

It was not at all a change that the Sonic starters came out smoking, just as they had against the L.A. Clippers in their last home pre-season game. Behind fine early play from Booth, Barry, and guard Gary Payton, the Sonics took command of the game early. With reserves in the ballgame during the second quarter, the Kings cut what was a 17-point lead after the first quarter down under double figures, but the starters extended the lead back to 15 at the half, 67-52. Seattle came out flat in the second half, and the Kings slowly but surely gained ground to create a dramatic finish out of what had appeared to be a laugher.

Coach Nate McMillan used what appeared to be his regular rotation in the game, with the exception of forward Predrag Drobnjak, who sat out with a sprained ankle which will probably keep him out this Sunday against Golden State. Desmond Mason played heavily off the bench, as the Sonics went largely with a small lineup against the Kings, who were without star forward Chris Webber, out for the next 4-6 weeks. Shammond Williams, first round pick Vladimir Radmanovic, and center Jerome James also played off the bench, with Art Long and Earl Watson playing briefly at the end of the first half.

Payton lead the Sonics with 24 points, along with 7 assists. Lewis chipped in 23 points, including 10 and 3 three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Barry had 17 points to go with 8 rebounds. Baker lead the team in rebounding with 10 and added 12 points. Booth made it a clean sweep of starters in double figures with 10 points in just 19 minutes. Sacramento was lead by the 23 of perennial Sonic-killer Peja Stojakovic and 18 of fellow Yugoslavian Vlade Divac. Second-year center Jabari Smith added 13 on 5 of 9 shooting to key the Kings' fourth quarter run.

Though official attendance was announced at 8, 231, the actual number there was probably nearer 5,000. Throughout the game, the Sonics placed a feed of the Mariner-Yankee ALCS game in the bottom right of the screen, and the crowd cheered loudly for the high points of the game. As well, the crowd seemed not to notice a brief melee which resulted in technicals for Payton and Sacramento's Torraye Braggs, as the M's attempted to rally.