In their final tuneup prior to Opening Night next Tuesday, the Seattle Sonics appeared to be hitting on all cyllinders as they ran past the Sacramento Kings this evening by a final of 106-88. Despite playing without starting power forward Vin Baker, who should be recovered from a sore back in time for the opener, the Sonics took a lead into halftime and never were in serious danger during the second half, as they outscored Sacramento 32-20 in the third quarter and 23-18 in the fourth.

The Sonics were led by the 23 of forward Rashard Lewis on 9 of 18 shooting. The game capped off a solid pre-season for Lewis, who many fans expect to break out this season and establish himself firmly as the Sonics' number two option on offense. Gary Payton, who has also had a stellar pre-season campaign, added 17 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds. Desmond Mason came off the bench for the Sonics to score 16 points and grab 9 boards. Guard Brent Barry, who has locked up a starting job with a fine effort this October, had 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists, but an unacceptable 6 turnovers. Rookie forward Vladimir Radmanovic started at power forward in place of Baker, and had statistically his best effort thus far, scoring 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting and adding 6 rebounds, though he too turned the ball over 6 times.

Doug Christie paced Sacramento with 17 points and also recorded 9 rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu, starting in place of Sacramento's injured forward -- Chris Webber -- led the club with 10 boards but shot just 3 of 14 from the field. Fellow foreign forward Peja Stojakovic, a noted Sonic killer, had 13 points on 6 of 14 shooting.

Seattle posted some remarkable team statistics during the game, most notably shooting 21 of 21 from the free throw line. The Sonics also recorded a pre-season high 55 rebounds en reute to victory ... In addition to Baker, the Sonics were also without forward Predrag Drobnjak (sprained ankle) and guard Shammond Williams (broken ring finger). Both are expected to be placed on the injured list this weekend as the Sonics reduce their active roster to 12 ... Coach McMillan's rotation included nine main players, with Art Long's inclusion a bit of a surprise. Earl Watson, Mason, Jerome James, and Radmanovic will likely form the rotation come opening night ... the Sonics will hold the final of three open practices this pre-season this Sunday morning at KJR's Sports FANtasy weekend at the Stadium Exhibition Center. Tickets are five dollars .... the Kings and Sonics will meet again Tuesday night in Scramento in the opener.