After already winning two of their first three games on an east coast swing that they quite easily could have finished 0-4, the Seattle SuperSonics could have been content to rest on their 'laurels' in tonight's game against the Indiana Pacers in the Conseco Fieldhouse. With their best post player, forward Vin Baker, missing the game with a shoulder injury, they could have been manhandled on the interior.

Instead, the Sonics brought their third strong effort in four games, staying close all night long before exploding for a late run to defeat the Pacers, 95-86.

After a Jalen Rose basket with 4:13 left in the fourth quarter, the Pacers took a one point lead, and the Sonics took their level of play to the next level. A long possession was extended by two offensive rebounds before Brent Barry made a spectacular move to get past Reggie Miller and into the lane. There, he made contact with Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal while banking in a layup. The call came down as a block foul instead of a charge, and Barry sank a free throw to complete three points the old-fashioned way and put the Sonics ahead for good.

Both offenses slowed to a crawl in the ensuing minutes, as Miller missed a pair of makable threes. Seattle got a turnaround jumper from Rashard Lewis in the lane to push the lead, and Indiana answered at the free-throw line. Just outside of two minutes, Jeff Foster made one of two foul shots to make it a one-possession game. As the clock slid under one minute to play, O'Neal went to the line and also made one of two to cut the lead to two.

Again, Barry answered. Gary Payton successfully drove into the lane, drawing the defense and leaving Barry all alone behind the three point line. Barry was so open he had time to slightly juggle the ball before stepping into a shot that found nothing but the bottom of the net to all but seal the game with 42 seconds left.

The Pacers, desperately in need of a bucket, still could not get their suddenly inept offense in gear. Rose, serving as point guard in the absence of Rookie of the Year candidate Jamaal Tinsley, who left the game with a sprained left hip in the third quarter, threw the ball away. When the Sonics recovered, the only question left was how large Seattle could build their lead at the free-throw line. They hit all four shots they took inside the final minute to win by nine.

The absence of Tinsley seemed to hinder the Pacers on the offensive end. At the 6:15 mark, Miller replaced Indiana's backup point guard, Travis Best. The move left the Pacers without a true point guard on the court, though Rose -- currently the starting small forward -- played the point much of last season. Though the cause may be in doubt, the effect was clear -- Indiana could muster only one field goal in the final seven minutes of the game after scorching the nets with 60% shooting in the first half.

Without Baker, the Sonics turned to a starting frontcourt of Jerome James and Art Long; hardly the duo fans or management envisioned ever starting a game together back in October. Long, who has struggled of late, made just 2 of 8 from the field but grabbed six rebounds in 29 minutes. James started off hot in the post, scoring six of his eight points in the first five minutes. Seattle also got a surprisingly strong effort from backup big man Peja Drobnjak, who has not lived up to pre-season expectations. Drobnjak contributed 19 solid minutes, scoring seven points, including a huge three-point play halfway through the fourth quarter, and held his own in the post against O'Neal.

Seattle leaned ever more heavily than usual upon their dynamic backcourt duo of Barry and Payton. Payton single-handedly kept the Sonics in the game in the second quarter with sharpshooting, and the Pacers went on a 7-2 run as soon as he was removed. He finished with 27 points and 11 assists. Barry, coming off a 29 point outing at Milwaukee, was deadly from the perimeter again. Taking only 11 shots, Barry finished with 22 points, making eight of his attempts, and was at his best when it counted down the stretch.

The Sonics led from the opening tip to the middle of the second quarter, when the Pacers became unconscious offensively and could not be stopped. They led by four at the half. In the third quarter, young Pacer big men O'Neal, Foster, and Bender got off. The trio combined for 50 points and 29 boards, with the normally quiet Foster going off for 16 and 12. However, they couldn't keep it out without their precocious point guard, and the Sonics were too strong down the stretch in completing an excellent east coast swing.