SuperSonics Still a Puzzle for the Lakers

SEATTLE —  Sunset over the Pacific:

If this wasn’t night falling on the Lakers and their hopes of winning the division title, it was a pretty good imitation, this 101-89 loss Monday night to Seattle before 17,072 at KeyArena that gives the SuperSonics a four-game lead with 18 games to play.

Make that five games. The victory, which came behind 27 points, nine assists and considerable venom from Gary Payton, also gave the SuperSonics a 3-0 lead in the season series and the tiebreaker in the event the teams finished even.

“Over the last few years, we’re the only team that’s shown any real ability to beat the Sonics,” Coach Del Harris said after his Lakers lost a big game and a six-game winning streak, their longest since the 11-0 run to open the season. “So we’re not counting on any help from anybody.”

Or as Nick Van Exel said after playing 22 minutes off the bench in his second game back: “I don’t know if it’s over. But I don’t know if Seattle’s going to lose many more games.”

Seattle would have to lose many, many more games. The SuperSonics nearly did this one after building a 21-point lead late in the second quarter, having it erased by early in the fourth period before surging again with six minutes remaining.

They know maybe it wouldn’t have mattered anyway for tiebreaker purposes, aware even if the Lakers won Monday and win again Friday at the Great Western Forum to earn a 2-2 season series that the SuperSonics could always count on the second tiebreaker, best conference record. But they also know it mattered a lot.

“This was a great way to start off [the stretch drive], especially against a team that is trailing us and trying to come up and take the lead,” said Payton, who scored 12 of his 27 in the decisive fourth. “We needed to make a statement against these guys.”

The Lakers’ Jan. 24 loss at KeyArena wasn’t decided until the final minute and the Feb. 13 setback in Inglewood came in overtime, but that should hardly have been solace. That the SuperSonics had persevered, winning close games that count and in the process making as big a statement as it did in the standings, was the difference in determining the division leader. At least so far.

The Lakers had fallen as far as 5 1/2 games back, on March 3. But that’s exactly when the comeback begin, finding at least hope even when they didn’t gain ground. Like that night--the SuperSonics were opening a tough Eastern swing and went to overtime against the Heat before winning.

The next night, the Lakers beat Indiana, the start of the six-game winning streak, and Seattle lost by 13 at Orlando.

On March 6, the Lakers beat San Antonio and the SuperSonics lost at Charlotte.

On March 8, the Lakers beat Detroit and the SuperSonics needed overtime to win at Minnesota.

The four-game trip, after Seattle had played six of its previous seven at home, resulted in two losses and needing overtime to win the other two. The way the SuperSonics had been going all season, this would have to pass as vulnerability.

The key, of course, was that it came as the Lakers were making their best showing since November. By the time Monday came around, they were in position to move within two games of the SuperSonics for the first time since Feb. 11, or just after the all-star break.

By the time the second quarter came around, they were down, 60-39. If this had all the makings of a disaster--not merely losing a game and maybe a division, but doing it in grand fashion--it only made the response all the more impressive.

A 13-4 run by the Lakers got them back within 64-54. They got a tie at 71-71 with 10:20 remaining and were still in the game for several more minutes.

But then the SuperSonics went for the TKO (for the game) and the knockout (for the Pacific). A 15-4 rally took care of that, and the Lakers, worth a 95-81 advantage with 2:32 left.

Worth much more.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Summit Meetings

How Seattle and the Lakers have fared against each other this season:

Jan. 24 at Seattle

* Seattle 101, Lakers 95

Feb. 13 at Lakers

* Seattle 113, Lakers 108

March 16 at Seattle

* Seattle 101, Lakers 89

BY THE NUMBERS

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Lakers Seattle 0-3 Record 3-0 97.3 Points 105 45.7 Rebounds 39 .429 FG% .480 .656 FT% .745 .217 3-PT% .433 24 Assists 21 14.7 Turnovers 11.7

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