| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Gary Payton hit a lot of big shots down down the stretch, then credited Vin Baker with making
the biggest play of the fourth quarter.
|  | | Mike Bibby scored 13 points for the Grizzlies, but Gary Payton, rear, was unstoppable down the stretch.
|
Payton helped the Seattle SuperSonics rally from a 10-point
deficit in the final 1:39 Thursday night for a 110-108 victory over
the Vancouver Grizzlies.
Payton scored seven points as the Sonics closed the game with a
14-2 run. He finished with 24 points.
The Sonics overcame their own frustrations after Baker was
ejected on a double-technical foul four minutes into the fourth
quarter. After Baker, who had to be restrained by Vernon Maxwell, left the court, Brent Price hit both free throws as the Grizzlies opened up a 95-81 lead.
Payton said Baker's eruption sparked the Sonics.
"Vin did a great job by being ejected and getting us motivated
to come back and try to play basketball," Payton said. "Vin
stepped up. We weren't getting the calls, things were going bad for
us at the time. He stepped up and took the techs for everybody,
because I sure was about to get one."
Seattle trailed 106-96 before coming back. Maxwell put the
Sonics ahead for good by hitting a 3-point basket with 5.2 seconds
left. The basket was set up when Horace Grant picked off Shareef Abdur-Rahim's inbounds pass.
The Grizzlies' last hope ended when Abdur-Rahim was called for
an offensive foul for running into Payton with 2.3 seconds left. Payton sealed the victory
by making a pair of free throws.
Maxwell, who sparked the run with a 3-point basket, finished with 27 points after coming off the bench as the Sonics improved to 8-2.
Abdur-Rahim recorded his eighth straight double-double, finishing with 31 points and 14 rebounds.
"Everything we could've done wrong, we did wrong," Grizzlies coach Stu Jackson shouted, pounding a metal garage door at GM Place.
Added center Bryant Reeves: "It's not one anybody wants to talk about. I don't necessarily think that it's one anyone necessarily
knows how to talk about. Everybody's pretty much at a loss for
words."
The Sonics, on the other hand, didn't know what happened.
As coach Paul Westphal put it: "Don't ask me to even try to
explain that one, just enjoy it."
Othella Harrington had a career-high 25 points for the Grizzlies (3-5), who have never been at .500 or better after six games into a season.
The Sonics had a terrible second quarter, going 7-for-23 from
the field, including a 6:07 stretch in which they failed to hit a
field goal. Down 42-36, the Grizzlies took advantage, going on a
13-0 run to take the lead.
Game notes
After hitting 44 or more field goals six times prior to
this season, the Grizzlies have done it in three of their last five
games. ... The Sonics opened last season 7-2 before losing seven of
their next nine and finished the season 25-25 and out of the
playoffs. ... Grant scored 12 points, moving to within 25 points of
the 11,000-point plateau.
| |
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Vancouver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 92
Toronto 81
Milwaukee 99
San Antonio 88
Sacramento 128
Houston 110
Denver 93
LA Lakers 82
Seattle 110
Vancouver 108
|
