Is there any way that the Seattle Sonics can petition the NBA to not play the second quarter against the Utah Jazz? On November 3, Utah used a 26-14 advantage in the second quarter to hand the Sonics a 91-74 victory in KeyArena. This evening, the second quarter was even more decidedly in favor of the Jazz. They outscored the Sonics by a 34-19 margin, taking full advantage of eight layups in the quarter, and extended their lead to as large as 30 points in an eventual 112-88 victory in the Delta Center.

The Sonic defense utterly broke down after three straight solid games, not coincidentally all wins, at home. In the first quarter, Seattle was able to match Utah almost shot for shot. The game went back and forth, with the Jazz ending the quarter with a 29-27 lead. Then the floor gave out for the Sonics. Utah started the second quarter with a 16-4 run, including three layups and a dunk, to extend the lead to 14. Things got worse before they got better. A 5-0 Utah run prior to the half gave them a 17 point lead at intermission.

The third quarter, was, like the first quarter, back and forth. Unfortunately, trading buckets did little good for the Sonics, trailing by 19 going to the fourth and running out of time. The Jazz extended the lead in the early fourth quarter, and the Sonics finally conceded at the 7:08 mark, trailing by a 98-72 score. Rashard Lewis, Gary Payton, and Vin Baker were replaced by Art Long, Desmond Mason, and Vladimir Radmanovic, and the rout was officially on.

The Jazz, shooting just 45% from the field for the season prior to the game, made a remarkable 54.4% of their shots. That was aided by 23 layups as Utah's away from the ball movement confounded the Sonic defense. Utah's superior ball movement resulted in 27 assists to the Sonics' 18, and despite averaging over 20 turnovers per game this season, the Jazz had just 13 tonight. Their defensive intensity was reflected in 12 steals and 12 blocks on the evening.

Vin Baker's strong play since his return from injury continued even in the loss, as he scored 20 points on 9 of 14 shooting. However, he grabbed just 2 rebounds. Playing a season low 32 minutes, Payton scored 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting and added 5 assists. Lewis had a poor shooting night, hitting 5 of 18, but scored 13 points and grabbed 8 boards. Reserve Mason added 12 points.

Donyell Marshall led the Jazz with 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting, and also was tops on the team with 10 boards. Karl Malone, eshewing trade rumors, also hit 8 of 12 and had 19 points. John Stockton was a typically efficient 5 of 9 for 18 points. Rookie forward Andrei Kirilenko came off the bench to provide 14 points for Utah, and fellow reserve John Starks added 11.

Notes:
Sonic starters Calvin Booth and Brent Barry combined to shoot 1 of 10 from the field and score 5 points ... in 7 minutes off the bench, Sonic rookie Vladimir Radmanovic scored 8 points ... the Sonics made an excellent 17 of 19 free throws ... Utah started rookie Jarron Collins at center instead of Greg Ostertag. Collins scored 6 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in 23 minutes. In an excellent 18 minutes of play, Ostertag scored 8 points on 4 of 4 shooting and collected 8 boards, as well as 6 blocks ... former Sonic John Crotty led the Jazz with 7 assists.

SC.com Player of the Game: Vin Baker takes this award by default on a night when almost every Sonic was overmatched.