So apparently the Sonics can guard someone after all. To conclude a road trip that saw Sean Marks score 15, Todd MacCulloch 29, and Paul Pierce 35, the Sonics shut down Michael Jordan and his Wizards teammates, winning going away by a final of 99-84 to conclude their East Coast trip at 2-3.

Perhaps most impressively, the Sonics won the game without any of their top big men. Predrag Drobnjak remains on the injured list with a sprained ankle, Calvin Booth sat out his third straight game with a sprained ankle, and Vin Baker missed the game with a bruised knee.

The real story was Jordan's poor play. The Wizard superstar missed his first 14 shots from the field. Down 21 to start the fourth quarter, Jordan finally upped his play to start a Wizard mini-run that got the team within seven points with five minutes left. The Sonics responded, as Brent Barry hit a three pointer, Desmond Mason hit a jumper, and Gary Payton dominated the post to send the Sonics on a run to put the game out of reach.

Payton continued his fine play throughout most of the road trip, leading the team with 32 points on 11of 22 shooting, and adding 15 assists, a season high. Barry, who has shot miserably during the East Coast swing, was finally on to give the Sonics a strong second option, scoring 20 points on 7-10 shooting with 6 boards and 6 assists. Desmond Mason, who started along with Jerome James in place of Booth and Baker, scored 14 points, as did Rashard Lewis, who added 9 rebounds. The biggest surprise on the Sonic end was the play of forward/center Art Long, much-maligned by fans, who took advantage of the injuries to have easily his finest game in two years in the NBA, scoring 10 points on 5-9 shooting and grabbing 10 boards, though he did record a team-high 4 turnovers.

Jordan ended the game 5-26 from the field with 16 points, though he did do a good job on the glass with 12 rebounds. Richard Hamilton, dropped from the starting lineup, was the Wizards' main offensive threat, scoring 23 points. Bobby Simmons, a Sonic draft pick who was traded to Washington for the rights to Drobnjak, came off the bench to score 13 points on 5-6 shooting. For the game, the Wizards were held to just 37.4% shooting.

SC.com Player of the Game: Gary Payton, who not only played solid defense on Jordan but also sparked the Sonics' offense with 32 and 15.