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Wednesday, Apr. 12 10:00pm ET
Reshuffled Sonics trounce T-Wolves | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
SEATTLE (AP) -- With his team in a prolonged slump, Paul Westphal decided it was time to roll the dice. "Everything is a gamble in this league," the Seattle SuperSonics coach said. "I was just trying to shuffle the deck and see if things could work better." Westphal shook up his starting lineup by benching Vin Baker and two other regulars Wednesday night, and the Sonics ended a three-game losing streak with a 110-83 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. "I'll take those results any night I can get them," Westphal said. "But I expected this lineup to do well." Gary Payton scored 29 points to lead the Sonics, who had dropped nine of 11 games to fall to the eighth playoff seed in the Western Conference. Westphal, upset over his team's recent struggles, replaced Baker, Brent Barry and Ruben Patterson, regulars all season, with Rashard Lewis, Shammond Williams and Cuban forward Lazaro Borrell. He wouldn't say whether or not he plans to use the same lineup again. "All I can say is, 'So far so good,"' Westphal said. "I like it a lot," Sonics center Horace Grant said. "I think we're going to stick with it for a while." Kevin Garnett paced the Timberwolves, who had a four-game winning streak broken, with 18 points. Lewis had 18 points, Borrell 10 and Williams eight for the Sonics, who also got 20 points from Vernon Maxwell and 12 rebounds from Grant. The Sonics put Minnesota away early in the final quarter. Ahead 74-63, the Sonics got a 3-pointer from Maxwell, a two-handed dunk by Lewis on a pinpoint pass from Borrell, and a fast-break layup from Jelani McCoy to grab an 81-63 edge with 1:28 gone in the period. The Sonics' starting five of Grant, Payton, Borrell, Williams and Lewis caught the Timberwolves off-guard, taking a lead of 17-12 before Westphal brought in Baker and Patterson. Minnesota coach Flip Saunders admitted he was surprised at the five players Westphal started. "That lineup was so effective against the Lakers (a loss in overtime on Monday night in Los Angeles)," Saunders said. "It also gives them a little pop off the bench." Seattle jumped on top 15-6 in the first 5:33 as Payton sank a pair of 3-pointers and an 18-footer. The Sonics took the lead for good on Payton's first 3-pointer, with 1:22 gone in the game. In the second quarter, the Sonics built their lead to 17 points at 54-37 on two free throws by Payton with 37 seconds left. Baker picked up three personal fouls in the third quarter when Minnesota pulled to within 11 points three times. The slumping Baker finished with more fouls, five, than points, four, in 14 minutes. He took one shot and had one rebound. He said he wasn't upset by Westphal's decision not to start him. He didn't go back in the game in the fourth quarter. "If we weren't up by 20, do you think Paul would have left me sitting?" Baker asked. Wally Szczerbiak had 14 points for Minnesota. The Timberwolves said the Sonics deliberately ran up the score by leaving Payton in the game until late in the fourth quarter. Payton played all but three minutes in the final period. "It's kind of dangerous," Garnett said. "That's how players get hurt. Guys in our league are competitive. You can't do that." Game notesThe Sonics and the Timberwolves split four games this season, with each team winning twice on its home court. ... Williams' start was the first of his career, Borrell's his second and Lewis' his 11th. ... Payton's 29 points gave him 13,383 for his career, tying Rudy Tomjanovich, the Houston Rockets' coach, for 118th place on the NBA's scoring list. ... Williams had a career-high 28 points in Monday night's overtime loss to the Lakers. The smallish guard delighted the crowd with a two-handed dunk on a fast break with 1:37 left before making a 3-pointer and drawing another ovation. ... Minnesota's Sam Mitchell was ejected with 8.5 seconds left after getting into a heated argument with a Sonics fan near the Seattle bench. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Minnesota Clubhouse Seattle Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 95 Orlando 91
Seattle 110
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