RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The Seattle SuperSonics stepped on the court
in San Antonio rattled by Wednesday's off-court events and never
stood a chance against the Spurs.
Seattle slapped top scorer Gary Payton with a one-game
suspension for arguing with coach Paul Westphal, then lifted the
sanction shortly before tipoff, and the Sonics dropped to 5-8 with
a 112-85 loss.
"They might have lost this game before it started," said Spurs
center David Robinson, who hit all six of his free throws and
scored 14 points.
"They had some challenges. It's tough to come out here, and
especially against a good team, when you have some strife, a little
bit of strife going on. It's tough."
Payton led Seattle with 18 points, seven below his average
heading into the game. He went only 6-of-15 from the floor as
Seattle shot 38.6 percent to San Antonio's 44.7 percent.
The All-Star guard was held scoreless in the second and fourth
quarters. The Sonics scored just 11 points in the second, when the
Spurs took the lead for good.
On Tuesday night, teammates had to restrain Payton when he
confronted Westphal during a timeout in the fourth quarter a win
over Dallas.
Payton didn't want to talk about their argument. He attributed
Wednesday's loss to slow rotations on defense and poor shooting.
The team suspended Payton on Wednesday but later gave him the
go-ahead to play, saying he had apologized.
Earlier this month, Westphal offered to resign, frustrated by
his team's bickering. But the players wouldn't let him.
"We are OK, we are fine," Payton said Wednesday. "I'm the
point guard and I play for him. I come to play basketball every day.
That's what they pay me for."
Westphal, who said before the game that it was his decision to
allow Payton to play, reiterated that they have cleared the air.
"We just played a horrible game," he said. "It's hard to play
out emotions in front of the media."
The Spurs, meanwhile, made their free throws, going 32-of-40
from the line, and allowed the Sonics to score only six points on
nine turnovers. The Spurs converted 18 turnovers into 20 points.
Reserve Malik Rose led the Spurs with 22 points, shooting
12-of-14 from the foul line, and had 10 rebounds.
Derek Anderson added 18 points for San Antonio, while Sean
Elliott scored 12, and Tim Duncan had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Seattle reserve Jelani McCoy had 12 points. Rashard Lewis had 11
points and seven rebounds before leaving the game with 8:10 left in
the third quarter with a bruised left calf.
Vin Baker scored 10 for the Sonics but was hampered by foul
trouble.
The Spurs broke open the game early in the second quarter with
an 11-2 run built on slam dunks by Anderson and Duncan. San Antonio
never relented, expanding the lead to 21 at the half and leading by
as many as 35 in the fourth quarter.
Game notes
San Antonio improved to 8-3. ... Ira Newble scored eight
points for the Spurs in his NBA debut. ... The Spurs' last game was
a 99-94 overtime loss to Minnesota on Friday. ... The game was
Avery Johnson's 600th with the Spurs. ... The Spurs extended their
home winning streak to six games. ... Duncan had his 10th
double-double in 11 games.
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NBA Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
San Antonio Clubhouse
Glove gets love: Sonics reverse Payton suspension
RECAPS
Boston 96
Houston 81
Atlanta 78
New York 74
Charlotte 88
Philadelphia 73
Cleveland 86
Miami 67
Portland 93
Milwaukee 84
Minnesota 101
Vancouver 100
San Antonio 112
Seattle 85
Phoenix 97
New Jersey 85
Utah 116
Denver 78
LA Lakers 111
Golden State 91
Sacramento 100
Chicago 71
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