Many of the 17,072 fans who made KeyArena a sellout last night for the game between the Seattle Supersonics and Toronto Raptors were there to see the aerial artistry of arguably the NBA's brightest young star, Raptor forward Vince Carter. So it came as no surprise that there was a loud chorus of boos when it was announced just before tipoff that Carter would miss the game after suffering a bad fall the previous night as Toronto beat the Lakers in LA.

Oh, the fans still saw a number of SportsCenter-worthy plays on the fast break; the surprise was that they came from the Sonics and not the Raptors. Stifling Toronto defensively on one end, beating them downcourt on the other, the Sonics thouroughly dominated in their second blowout win in three games, winning by a final of 101-75 to extend their season-best winning streak to six games.

Two nights after Gary Payton was forced to carry the offensive load, all three top offensive Sonics were on top of their games. This allowed Payton, who still finished with 18 points, to serve as a distributor, handing out 11 assists before leaving for good early in the fourth quarter. Vin Baker, showing little ill effect of the torn ligament in his thumb which still requires a brace, made 10 of 15 shots and had a team-high 21 points. Rashard Lewis was quietly the best offensive Sonic on the night, making 8 of 9 shots and scoring 18 while grabbing 8 boards.

However, it wasn't any of these players that catalyzed the Sonics' run early in the second quarter which enabled them to turn a close game into a laugher. Instead, it was the youthful trio of Earl Watson, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Desmond Mason.

When Watson and Mason entered the game together near the end of the first quarter, they immediately turned up Seattle's defensive intensity a couple of notches. In one stretch at the beginning of the second, Mason and Watson forced turnovers on three of four Toronto possessions, just minutes after drawing a remarkable two 24-second shot clock violations near the close of the first.

On the other end, the young guys got the Sonics running past a Toronto team that was worn out from the previous evening's impressive W over the Lakers as well as injuries which have claimed not only Carter, but starting center Hakeem Olajuwon and reserve Chris Childs. Watson finished one fast break with a reverse bank layin which belied his 6-1 stature, while Payton found Lewis on the break for an ally-oop that was eerily reminiscent of the Payton Kemp combination of the early 90's.

Add it all up, and the Raptors were largely finished by the time halftime mercifully rolled around with the Sonics holding a 57-36 advantage, having held Toronto to just 14 points in the second period.

In the second half, the visitors were able to stay in the game thanks to some solid individual performances. Keon Clark, starting at center in place of Olajuwon, beat Art Long on the offensive end and finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Tracy Murray, glad to be freed from the shackles of the bench by Carter's injury, scored 16 points, most in the fourth quarter. Second year man Morris Peterson was the main offensive threat in the first half, scoring the majority of his 18 points and adding 9 rebounds.

Nevertheless, they couldn't prevent the inspired Sonics from extending the lead over 30 points in the early fourth quarter, allowing both fans and the team to relax and enjoy some more creative play down the stretch. In one sequence, Radmanovic made an athletic dash into the frontcourt before finding fellow Yugoslavian Peja Drobnjak for an easy finish. A play later, Drobnjak made like Payton, beating a double team at halfcourt to lead to another layup.

Drobnjak, who had not yet found his rythym with the Sonics this season, had a breakout game, hitting double figures with 11 points and also grabbing 6 rebounds.

Notes:
For the first time in quite some while, the Sonics were able to go an entire game without sustaining any injury ... they should also get back centers Calvin Booth and Jerome James by the next time they take the court, January 4 versus Philadelphia ... Dell Curry, still one of the league's top marksman as he advances in age, got the start in place of Carter but was miserable offensively, shooting 3 of 13 ... Michael Bradley, who the Sonics considered in the Draft before settling on Radmanovic, got into the game in the fourth quarter but did not score ... Toronto's Michael Stewart, considered one of the worst free agent signings of all time, also got in during garbage time ... Watson and Mason paced the Sonics with two steals apiece ... former Sonic head coach Lenny Wilkens received a nice ovation prior to the game, but then picked up a rare technical late in the first quarter.

SC.com Player of the Game: In order to mix it up a little, we'll give the award to Earl Watson for sparking the Sonics with his tenacious play on both ends of the court, with a nod to the big three as well as Drobnjak for their fine play.