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Thursday, Dec. 2 10:30pm ET
Baker, Sonics cook up road win | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Gary Payton may be the most confident guard in the NBA. Go ahead, ask him about playing against an upstart rookie. "I've been in the league 10 years," said Payton, who scored a game-high 27 points in Seattle's 117-108 victory over Golden State on Thursday night. "I don't match up with anybody." Payton has scored 20 or more points in 11 of the SuperSonics' 16 games this season. "That backcourt is excellent," said Golden State coach P.J. Carlesimo. "Gary is probably the toughest guard to play against." Vin Baker had 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double this year as Seattle responded to its first home loss of the season on Tuesday night by improving to 6-3 on the road. Vonteego Cummings scored a career-high 19 points as the Warriors lost their eighth consecutive game for the first time since an eight-game skid between March 11-24, 1998. The Warriors have also lost seven of eight home contests this season. Antawn Jamison added 18 points and Jason Caffey had a season-high 15 points. Cummings said he had fun trying to match up with Payton. "He's my favorite player in the league," said Cummings. "It was a great opportunity to go out there and face him. I like a lot of the things he does on the court as far as his defense and offense." Seattle took advantage of another poor start from Golden State to take a quick 19-8 lead less than five minutes into the contest. Payton and Ruben Patterson, who scored 16 points in the game, combined for all 19 SuperSonics points. The Warriors shot just 39.6 percent from the floor in the first half, 36 percent (10-of-28) in the second quarter. The SuperSonics held a 20-point lead midway through the third quarter. Golden State got within seven points with less than 30 seconds to play, but turned the ball over twice without getting a shot off in the closing moments. "We emphasized coming out and playing solid defense," said Seattle coach Paul Westphal. "They got a lot of points after the game was over. Their shooting roles were well-documented. If we played good defense, they wouldn't score. Emanuel Davis scored a season-high 16 points for the SuperSonics and Brent Barry added 12. Mookie Blaylock had 15 and Chris Carr, playing just his second game of the season, had 14 for the Warriors. Seattle led by as many as 11 points late in the first quarter by making 14 of their first 25 shots. The Warriors were able to get within 32-28 when Cummings hit a 3-pointer with 1:21 left in the quarter, but never got any closer. Game notesThe Warriors placed forward Donyell Marshall on the injured list with left knee patellar tendinitis before the game. ... John Starks (right knee tendinitis) and Chris Mills (sore left ankle) missed their fourth straight game for Golden State, which had just nine players available. ... Seattle activated center Jelani McCoy and guard Fred Vinson before the game. To make room on the roster, guard Shammond Williams (right thumb injury) and forward Chuck Person (right foot) were placed on the injured list. ... The Warriors allow opponents an average of 29 points in the first quarter and score an average of 21.4 points, the largest margin of any quarter. ... Seattle has won 11 of the last 14 meetings with the Warriors. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Seattle Clubhouse Golden State Clubhouse RECAPS Atlanta 110 Sacramento 100
Seattle 117
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