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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SEATTLE (AP) -- Kevin Garnett missed his teammate from the Sydney Olympics, Gary Payton.
|  | | Anthony Peeler backs in against Seattle's Emanual Davis. Peeler scored 21 of his 24 points in the second half. |
"It was a little strange not playing against Gary," Garnett
said after the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Seattle SuperSonics
98-93 Friday night. "Yeah, it was definitely weird to come into
the KeyArena and not even see Gary.
"Gary is like Seattle's last hope," said Garnett, who noted
that the Mariners had lost Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, the
Sonics had lost Shawn Kemp and the Seahawks were now without Joey Galloway.
Payton, the Sonics' six-time All-Star point guard, was suspended
by coach Nate McMillan for one game after getting into a shouting
match with him in the locker room after a home loss to Phoenix.
The suspension ended Payton's streak of 356 consecutive regular
season games played, the longest active one in the NBA.
McMillan said the Sonics were at a psychological disadvantage
without Payton.
"I don't really know if we believed we could win," he said. "We got a little tight when they made their run. The guys seemed a little tense."
An intense competitor, Garnett expected to see a Sonics team
that was motivated to do well in the absence of its All-Star point
guard. He was right.
"When I found out Gary wasn't going to play, I knew they'd be
aggressive and they were," he said. "But once we calmed down and
adjusted to their game, we made a big run and they couldn't quite
adjust to us."
Ruben Patterson got into an on-court confrontation in the fourth quarter with Payton on Wednesday night. But he admitted he missed Payton.
"We could have really used Gary tonight," he said.
The Timberwolves, who are in ninth place in the Western
Conference playoff chase, got 24 points from Anthony Peeler, 21 in
the second half.
They took a 17-point lead, 90-73, with 11 unanswered points
early in the final quarter before Seattle came back with a 15-0 run
to cut its deficit to 90-88 with 2:18 to go.
Terrell Brandon, who had 21 points for Minnesota, scored six
points in the final 1:39, including two free throws with 16.8
seconds left after being fouled by Desmond Mason. His 18-footer
with 1:05 remaining put the Timberwolves ahead 96-92.
Garnett had 16 points on 6-for-20 shooting and 17 rebounds,
while Wally Szczerbiak scored 16 for Minnesota.
Patterson had 23 points and Mason, a rookie, added a career-high
22 for the Sonics. Seattle's Vin Baker scored 16.
With Minnesota ahead 79-71 at the start of the final quarter,
Peeler hit a 3-pointer, his sixth of the night, to start his team's
11-0 run. He finished it off with a 12-footer.
Peeler had 16 points in the third quarter, including four
3-pointers, as the Timberwolves pulled away to a 79-71 lead.
Peeler's first 3-pointer of the period tied the score at 52. His
fourth 3-pointer came after Garnett missed on a dunk and he grabbed
the rebound. It put Minnesota in front 69-62 with 3:28 left in the
quarter.
The Sonics led by seven points at halftime as Mason scored 10
points in the second quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Minnesota's defense limited Seattle to three free throws in the
final 4:26 after Mason's second 3-pointer.
In the first quarter, Szczerbiak had eight points, but the
Sonics outscored the Timberwolves 14-4 in the final 3:19 to go
ahead 28-21. Jelani McCoy had a two-handed dunk with 1:19 left in
the period and Shammond Williams sank a 3-pointer with 28.8 seconds
for Seattle.
Game notes
Payton's suspension cost him $135,555, which is 1/90th of
his $12.2 million salary this season. He missed the third game of
his 11-year, 827-game career, and his first since March 15, 1996,
when he was suspended by the NBA for head butting Joe Wolf. ...
McMillan started Baker in place of Patterson and Brent Barry in
place of Payton. ... McMillan said before the game that Payton,
through agent Aaron Goodwin, asked to talk to his teammates before
the game, but he said no. "We decided to keep the suspension the
way it was," McMillan said. ... Payton will rejoin the Sonics for
practice Saturday and return to the lineup against Sacramento in a
home game Sunday night.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Seattle Clubhouse
Hughes: It's time to move Payton's Place
Your thoughts on Payton
Payton timeline: How much is enough?
Contrite, suspended Payton admits 'I broke a rule'
RECAPS
Philadelphia 97
New Jersey 86
Toronto 101
Washington 79
Milwaukee 105
Charlotte 98
New York 97
Detroit 91
Denver 91
Cleveland 88
Golden State 103
Phoenix 95
Minnesota 98
Seattle 93
Miami 97
Vancouver 86
LA Lakers 114
Houston 101
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Kevin Garnett Official Site
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