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  Friday, Oct. 20 11:00pm ET
Los Angeles 103, Seattle 98
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Kobe Bryant scored 20 points and Shaquille O'Neal had 19 points and 14 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers finally won a preseason game, beating the Seattle SuperSonics 103-98 Friday night.

The defending NBA champions, who entered the game as the only team without a victory, snapped a string of seven consecutive exhibition losses overall, four this year.

Patrick Ewing, acquired by the SuperSonics from New York during the offseason, had four points and nine rebounds in a foul-plagued 22 minutes. He didn't play in the fourth quarter.

Gary Payton scored 21 points for Seattle, while Vin Baker and former Lakers player Ruben Patterson added 18 apiece.

The Sonics trimmed an 11-point deficit to 99-96 with an 11-3 run capped by Desmond Mason's 3-pointer with 53 seconds to play. But Isaiah Rider responded with a layup on the ensuing fast break and Stanislav Medvedenko sank two free throws to clinch it.

Ewing picked up his fifth foul with 4:01 left in the third quarter and the Sonics trailing 72-63, and Vin Baker left the game with a strained left hip flexor 2 1/2 minutes later. But Payton's 11 points in the quarter helped the Sonic stay within 10.

The Lakers, who shot 1-for-13 from 3-point range Thursday night against Cleveland, built a 57-45 halftime lead by making eight of their first nine shots from behind the arc _ including four by Brian Shaw. The Sonics missed all seven of their 3-point attempts in the half and finished 3-for-15.

Patterson returned to the Sonics' lineup after sitting out Thursday's loss against Golden State because of a bruised left thigh.

Forward Rashard Lewis, who sprained his right knee in the loss to the Warriors, is questionable for the season opener Oct. 31.

Lakers forward Robert Horry needed two stitches in his mouth after he was elbowed by Baker with 11:07 left in the second quarter. Horry returned with about seven minutes left in the game.

 


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RECAPS
Philadelphia 117
Washington 97

Utah 96
New York 90

Dallas 100
Miami 96

Golden State 106
Cleveland 96

LA Clippers 96
Indiana 83

Boston 112
Chicago 95

Phoenix 86
Minnesota 77

Sacramento 92
Vancouver 90

LA Lakers 103
Seattle 98