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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SEATTLE (AP) -- Patrick Ewing is disappointed with the way his
first season away from the New York Knicks is ending.
"It's very weird, very weird," Ewing said after the Seattle
SuperSonics beat the Golden State Warriors 107-101 Wednesday, one
night after the Sonics were eliminated from the playoffs.
"This will be my first time in like 13 years not making it,"
the 16-year veteran said. "It's disappointing, but you can't cry
over spilled milk."
Traded by the Knicks to the Sonics last Sept. 20, the 7-foot
Ewing wasn't able to provide the inside presence Seattle needed to
get to the playoffs. He had 13 points and five rebounds Wednesday
to help Gary Payton, with 32, get past the Warriors.
The 38-year-old Ewing will be absent from the playoffs for the
first time since the 1986-87 season.
"I thought we were gonna have a great team," said Ewing, who
made the playoffs in his last 13 seasons in New York after missing
them in his first two years with the Knicks. "I still think we
have a very good team, but we just didn't play like it enough this
year."
Antawn Jamison, who scored 51 points in his previous game in
Seattle on Dec. 3, led the Warriors with 38 points, including 24 in
the first half.
Golden State, which has the worst record in the West, dropped to
2-27 since the All-Star break.
Jamison's teammates told him at halftime that they thought he
might break his career high of 51, a total he has hit twice.
"I knew the Sonics weren't going to let me do that," Jamison
said with a grin. "But I don't have anything to prove to anybody.
I'm just out there trying to win games."
During the game, Jamison and Payton exchanged trash talking.
"Gary's an All-Star and you can see why," Jamison said. "He
does everything he does in fun. He's a competitor and I'm a
competitor. We're just two guys out there enjoying playing a
game."
The Sonics, who became a lottery team for the second time in
three years when Minnesota wrapped up the No. 8 berth in the West,
were without Vin Baker, who missed the game because of a sprained
right knee. Baker tested his knee before the game, but decided not
to play.
The Sonics swept their four-game season series and beat Golden
State for the eighth consecutive time. Seattle has won 11 home games in a row against Warriors.
Jamison, ranked ninth in the league in scoring with a 24.4
average, was virtually unstoppable. In 40 minutes, the 6-foot-9
forward shot 14-for-27, including a pair of 3-pointers, and had
seven rebounds.
Rookie Paul McPherson added a career-high 26 points for the
Warriors.
But Payton and the Sonics were deadly from the field. Seattle
shot 58.9 percent (43-for-73), with Payton going 13-for-21, with a
3-pointer, and also getting seven assists.
The Sonics, who led 80-74 after three periods, pulled away in
the fourth quarter. Rookie Olumide Oyedeji hit two free throws,
Brent Barry followed with two more free throws and, after a basket
by Chris Garner, Ruben Patterson followed with a layup and Oyedeji
put back an offensive rebound to give Seattle a 92-84 lead with
5:37 left.
In the final quarter, Payton scored nine points.
"Their star player took over," Golden State coach Dave Cowens
said.
The injury-riddled Warriors were without starting guard Vonteego
Cummings in the second half because of the flu.
Although there was little at stake in the game, McPherson had
the hustle play of the night with 4:01 left in the first half when
he leaped across the scorer's table attempting to intercept a pass.
Statisticians helped him back onto the court and he was unhurt.
Game notes
Before the game, Sonics coach Nate McMillan said the lack
of leadership cost his team in its failed bid to make the playoffs
this season. "You have to make sure you have someone to make sure
you pull together and not lose those close games," McMillan said.
He refused to put the blame on Sonics All-Star point guard Payton,
who was suspended twice this season for yelling at him and former
coach Paul Westphal. Westphal rescinded his suspension, but
McMillan did not. "You can't put all that on Gary," McMillan
said. ... Ewing, who is earning $14 million this season in the
final year of a contract he signed with the Knicks, said he wants
to continue playing next season. He said he'd like to return to the
Sonics. "I still have three games to go," he said. "Then I'll
sit down and talk to Wally." He was referring to Sonics president
and general manager Wally Walker.
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NBA Scoreboard
Golden State Clubhouse
Seattle Clubhouse
RECAPS
Miami 102
Boston 97
Chicago 113
Washington 109
Atlanta 107
Cleveland 102
Detroit 99
Toronto 87
Indiana 100
New York 93
Phoenix 111
Dallas 106
Seattle 107
Golden State 101
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