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Friday, Mar. 16 8:30pm ET
Sonics feast on injured Bulls

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

CHICAGO (AP) – Gary Payton doesn't list the Chicago Bulls among his worries. He's concerned with keeping the SuperSonics in the playoff hunt.

Payton scored 24 points as Seattle won its fourth straight game, beating Chicago 90-80 Friday night.

"It was never a problem," Payton said. "We stayed up 10 almost all the time."

Payton was mostly correct. In the second half, Seattle's lead was never higher than 14 and never lower than eight.

"We weren't worried about them," Payton said. "We didn't put them away because of things we were doing to ourselves."

Chicago, which lost its fifth straight, played without starters Elton Brand and Ron Artest, who sat with knee injuries.

"We were extemely shorthanded tonight," said Marcus Fizer, who led all scorers with 25. "Playing without key people like Elton and Ron is rough. We did the best we could."

Reserve Ruben Patterson added 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting for Seattle, which moved within four games of idle Minnesota for last playoff spot in the West.

"We talked about working hard and not giving that up," said Seattle coach Nate McMillan.

Added Payton: "We have to win all our games even to have a chance to think about the playoffs."

The Sonics led by as many as 10 in the first half thanks in part to several missed layups by the Bulls. Seattle opened a 55-41 lead early in the third quarter, and Chicago got no closer than eight in the final period.

Seattle forward Vin Baker did not return after bruising his left hand with four minutes left in the second quarter.

Game notes
Several members of the Bulls were getting over a personally disappointing opening round of the NCAA tournament. Among them were coach Tim Floyd, Fizer and guard Fred Hoiberg, all of Iowa State, which was shocked by Hampton. Guard A.J. Guyton, who played for Bobby Knight at Indiana, also saw his alma mater lose. Hoiberg, the Bulls' NCAA pool manager, admitted he thought about quitting the job, but figured he "had to be a man about it" and stayed on. ... The Bulls placed Michael Ruffin on the injured list with a broken bone in his left hand. ... Artest is day-to-day, but the Bulls said Brand won't make the trip to New York for Saturday's game with the Knicks. ... The Sonics made 19 of 23 free throws, continuing a solid run of 120 for 142 (85 percent) from the line over seven games.

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RECAPS
Indiana 103
Atlanta 97

Sacramento 100
Philadelphia 79

LA Lakers 101
Washington 89

Cleveland 114
Charlotte 109

Orlando 103
Vancouver 99

Seattle 90
Chicago 80

San Antonio 95
New Jersey 86

Boston 87
Denver 83

Portland 90
Utah 87

LA Clippers 94
Golden State 76


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