Playing without energy, life, or strong decision-making, the Sonics were lucky to even have a chance to win down the stretch. Incredibly, they did. A 13-4 run during the fourth quarter, sparked by the insertion into the game of point guard Shammond Williams, allowed the Sonics to tie the game at the 2:48 mark, 85-all.

They would not score again.

That's not to say they didn't have their chances, with Denver hardly setting the nets afire on the other end of the court. The most promising chance to score came when Sonic star Gary Payton, resting on the bench for the team's run, drove the lane hard with 1:50 left. However, Payton's layup rolled off and the game remained knotted up.

During the Sonics' next possession, Payton again attempted to create, but was locked up defensively by Denver defender Juwan Howard. Flustered, Payton forced a pass that went straight to the Nuggets' Donnell Harvey for a turnover. On the other end, Howard was again the key for the Nuggets, scoring in the post to put Denver ahead with a minute to play.

Instead of settling down and running the offense, the Sonics settled for a lengthy three from Rashard Lewis with a defender draped all over him. After the Nuggets recovered the ball with 28 seconds left, the Sonics decided to foul instead of allowing the chance for a score that would put the game out of reach.

Seattle sent to the line George McCloud, an 84% free throw shooter this season. McCloud left the door open for a Seattle comeback by missing one of the attempts, leaving the Sonics down three with 27 seconds left.

Payton was called upon again, with the rest of the team clearing out for him to drive towards the basket. Payton did just that, but, struggling through an awful game (5 of 14, 12 points), his attempt was off again. Giving the Nuggets every opportunity to put the game away, Seattle was unable to foul at first, allowing nine seconds to run off the clock before sending Howard, a 76% foul shooter to the line needing just one.

He too was unequal to the task, bricking both attempts to give the Sonics yet another chance to tie a game they had little business winning. Again, the Sonics' decision-making cost them, as the best attempt they could get was a 32-footer from Brent Barry, which bounded off to produce the 88-85 final.

It was a miserable offensive night for the normally prolific Sonics. Although Seattle has ranked tops in the NBA in field goal percentage much of the past month, they connected on just 35% of their tries. This was not due to the poor play of deep reserves -- starters Payton, Barry, Lewis, Peja Drobnjak, and Jerome James combined for 21 of 57 shooting (37%). The frontcourt of Lewis and Drobnjak was mildly successful, each scoring 16 points with Lewis adding in 14 rebounds. However, the backcourt duo of Barry and Payton, which the Sonics lean on heavily, combined for 27 points and 10 assists -- only slightly better than the typical contribution of Payton alone.

On the other side, Denver was severely limited by the injury to Hardaway which forced starting shooting guard McCloud to the point position. McCloud is capable, having recorded 22 assists in a game last season, but his ball-handling was exploited by the Sonics, who forced him into eight turnovers.

However, the Nuggets got solid games from Howard and Voshon Lenard. Howard had 22 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Lenard led the team with 24 points, including four threes -- as many as the entire Sonics team -- and dropped 14 of his points in the third quarter as Denver took the lead.

From the start, the Sonics, who demoralized the Houston Rockets 112-82 at KeyArena last night, looked listless. They trailed early by as many as seven points, with Hardaway opening the game with a pair of quick jumpers. Seattle rallied to close the lead to four at the end of the quarter, and caught the Nuggets during the second quarter, when the game tightened up. In an eerie bit of symmetry, each team won one of the first two quarters 26-22, producing a 48-all tie at the half.

In the third quarter, the Sonics looked early like they might take control, leading until the five minute mark. As the game began to sink into the defensive struggle of the fourth quarter, Lenard was a potent weapon, scoring five of the Nuggets' points during a 7-2 quarter-ending run.

That run extended to the fourth quarter, where Denver looked to have the game put away as their lead ballooned to nine at the nine minute mark. Their offense would go stale thereafter, but the cushion was just enough to produce a dramatic outcome but not a depressing one for Denver fans.

Box Score