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Saturday, Dec. 4 4:00pm ET
Payton leads Sonics past Clippers | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Seattle SuperSonics had a 17-point lead when Gary Payton and Vin Baker were removed from the game by coach Paul Westphal less than three minutes into the fourth quarter. Payton and Baker never came back, but neither did the Los Angeles Clippers. The Sonics, using a unit consisting of Greg Foster, Rashard Lewis, Emanuel Davis, Ruben Patterson and Brent Barry held off the Clippers for a 102-89 victory.
Sitting out substantial minutes in the fourth quarter is becoming habitual for Payton, who screamed at Westphal following last Tuesday's home loss to the Lakers for not using him in the final quarter -- and even dragged agent Aaron Goodwin into the dispute. But Westphal's insistence on using different units at structured times hasn't hurt the Sonics, who are off to a 13-4 start. And although Payton wants more minutes, it's unlikely there will be a repeat of his earlier tirade at Key Arena. "I can't tell you that," Payton said when asked if his sitting out in the fourth quarter was beneficial to the team. "I mean, I don't care if we're winning by 20, I still want to play. But whenever he wants to put me in there, it doesn't make a difference." Payton scored 19 points in 35 minutes, helping the Sonics beat the Clippers for the 11th straight time. Maurice Taylor and Derek Anderson each had 19 points for Los Angeles, losers of five straight overall. Baker made a short hook shot and Horace Grant added a driving layup and four free throws during an 8-0 run that helped extend Seattle's five-point halftime lead to 75-59 with 5:21 left in the third quarter. "When we came out at halftime, we started playing a little bit better," Payton said. "Everybody became more consistent and we started rebounding the ball. We had balance, everybody did what they were supposed to do and everything went the right way." The Sonics used a 7-2 run to take a 92-74 lead early in the fourth quarter, and the Clippers never got closer than 11 points after that. "Right now we're out of synch," Anderson said. "We've got to get back to that style of play we had on the road and everybody was telling us how hard we worked. But this team has gotten away from that. "I don't know if guys don't understand their roles, but we've got to go with guys who want to commit themselves and work hard for each other. I don't get a sense of that now. We've had a taste of winning and we want to get back to that," Anderson said. Seattle has won 25 of its last 26 games against the Clippers, with the only blemish being a two-point loss at Anaheim Arena on Jan. 23, 1997. The Clippers have dropped their last 12 games against the Sonics in Los Angeles, dating back to Jan. 24, 1993. Game notesPayton got a technical foul from referee Tommy Nunez with 3:39 left in the first half, following his profanity-laced response to a foul called against him for grabbing Lamar Odom's arm on an inbounds play. The technical came right after Payton told Nunez, "I'm the captain, so I can say whatever I want." ... Slumping Vernon Maxwell went 2-for-5 from the field for Seattle and had seven points in 12 minutes. ... The Sonics are 11-0 when they score at least 100 points. ... The Clippers have won only once in 11 games against Western Conference opponents. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Seattle Clubhouse LA Clippers Clubhouse RECAPS New York 92 New Jersey 82
Seattle 102
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