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It was the game so nice, the Seattle SuperSonics decided to win it twice. First they beat the
Sacramento Kings with a stunning and quick run that comprised most of the second quarter and
gave them a seemingly insurmountable 23 point lead heading to halftime when Brent Barry beat
the buzzer with a three. Then, when the insurmountable was surmounted, they held off a furious
Sacramento run down the stretch that got the Kings as close as four before falling, 126-116.
In the first half, the Sonics lit the nets afire, scoring an eye-popping 47 points in the second quarter. Three Sonics -- Rashard Lewis (11), Barry, and Desmond Mason (10 each) -- scored in double figures as the Sonics increased their lead from three at the quarter's open to 23 at the half by shooting over 70% from the field. Most of the damage was done within the final three and a half minutes, as the Sonics nearly fit a whole quarter's worth of scoring into 210 seconds. Lewis came afire, scoring eight straight points on a three, a fast break dunk, and a three-point play the old-fashioned way, all three set up by Gary Payton, who willingly played passer and decoy as his younger teammates went off. The Sonics' All Star guard had six points and seven assists inside the second quarter despite taking a four minute rest. All told, Seattle outscored Sacramento 24-8 within the late-half run. But the Kings, who entered the game having lost only once at home all season, to Midwest-leading Dallas, and with 20 straight wins under their belt, were not about to roll over. For most of the third quarter, the teams traded scores, but an 11-2 Sacramento run near the close of the period allowed them to close the lead after three quarters to a more-manageable 16 points. However, when Barry opened the fourth quarter with an acrobatic move to free himself in the lane for a banker that kissed off the glass and slid smoothly through the net and Mason followed this up with a jumper from the corner that returned the Sonic lead to 19 points. Sacramento answered immediately with an 8-0 run that occurred in the blink of an eye; 22 seconds. It was capped by an unconventional Doug Christie four-point play. The Seattle native scored a layin on fast break and drew a contested block foul on Barry, who was aiming to draw a charge. Seattle coach Nate McMillan, fuming over the fact that the Sonics had already called for five fouls in less than two minutes of the quarter, drew a technical. Christie made the technical free throw and his own, and suddenly the lead was down to 11. Both sides could have complained about refereeing which could charitably be described as uneven during the fourth quarter. The two teams were whistled for an unseemly 19 fouls -- nearly enough to send both into the penalty twice -- and shot 30 free throws, as the referees attempted to wrest control of the game's outcome from the two teams. For the second time, the Sonics seemed to have turned the tide and weathered the storm when Mason, who had a fabulous game with 15 big points on 6 of 9 shooting, drove the lane and was fouled, making the shot and a second consecutive three-point play. It was not to be; the Kings outscored the Sonics 10-4 to get the lead under double digits for the first time in the second half with 6:43 left to play in the ballgame and a 109-101 count. The teams then began trading baskets, and when Payton hit a clutch three pointer with 3:30 on the clock to put Seattle up 12, again they looked to have the game sewed up. But there was still no quit in the Kings and they fought back. Bobby Jackson made two free throws, and a Payton turnover turned into a Chris Webber tip-in that put Sacramento within two scores of the Sonics at 120-114. McMillan called timeout, and drew up an ingenious play which his squad executed to the perfection. Art Long, holding the ball at the top of the key, found rookie Earl Watson, forced into the game by Barry's having fouled out, all alone under the rim for a reverse layup which quieted the characteristically raucous Arco Arena crowd. The Kings turned to Webber, and some Sonic confusion allowed him an open jumper from the top of the key, which he drained countless times as the Sonics dared him to play on the perimeter and lost. This was in as well, and on the other end Webber wisely fouled Long, a 53% free throw shooter, on the perimeter. Long missed both attempts, and the Kings got a wide open three attempt from Three Point Shootout winner Peja Stojakovic. It was off, but Webber grabbed the rebound and dunked to put the Kings within four as Long complained to the referees that he had been fouled and McMillan called timeout. With 1:21 to go, a basket was critical for the Sonics, and they turned to their dependable veteran, Payton. He responded by driving the lane for a bank shot in traffic which put the Sonics back up by six. Sacramento worked the ball on offense to Jackson, who appeared to shuffle his feet before going up with a layup attempt. No travel was called, but the layup inexplicably rolled out and Lewis recovered. Seattle called Payton's number again, and he proved equal to the task, again beating defender Christie to get into the lane for a runner and the ballgame. After another Stojakovic miss, Payton closed the scoring with two free throws to cap off a brilliant 31 point performance on 11 of 17 shooting with 13 assists and finalize the game at 126-116. For the second straight game, the Sonics got impressive performances out of their big men despite the absence due to injury of Vin Baker, who is expected to miss two weeks with three dislocated toes. Starting center Jerome James stuffed the box score in 19 minutes of play, scoring eight points and tying Lewis for the team lead with nine boards as the Sonics outrebounded Sacramento 48-35 by committee. Backup Peja Drobnjak had his second straight fine outing, scoring 14 points on 7 of 11 shooting and grabbing seven boards. Drobnjak's play helped the Sonics exert a bench scoring advantage of 37-17 over the normally potent 'Bench mob' In addition to Drobnjak and Mason scoring, Watson and Long played key roles with their solid defense down the stretch. However, the Sonics big men were unable to control Webber, who had perhaps his best game of the season in keeping Sacramento afloat. The All-Star starter scored a season-best 39 points on 17 of 28 shooting while adding 11 rebounds. The Sonics answered the individual brilliance of Sacramento with balance of their own, as Lewis added in 26 points on 8 of 18 shooting and Barry scored 18 before fouling out.
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