Payton Keys Sonics Victory Seattle Rallies From 18-Point Deficit To Beat Chicago At Home

Gary Payton sure looked healthy as far as Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were concerned.

The All-Star point guard, who sprained his foot a week ago and was considered doubtful for the Sonics’ current homestand, stripped the ball away from Jordan with 20 seconds left Sunday, sealing the SuperSonics’ 97-92 victory.

“I feel great,” Payton said. “They (medical staff) tell me I’m one of those miracle people who heal real fast.”

Payton had 26 points and 11 assists. Shawn Kemp added 25 points and 14 rebounds.

“If he was hurt, he sure didn’t play like it,” Jordan said of Payton. “I wanted to penetrate and dish to Scottie (Pippen). He did what he had to do and that was strip the ball.”

The Sonics’ swarming, trapping defense sparked their second-half comeback. With the game on the line, George Karl wanted Payton to shut down Jordan with the Sonics up 94-92.

“Our plan was for me to guard him if the game was tight,” Payton said. “I played him straight. I knew he was going to go to the basket. I stayed in front of him. He put the ball down by my hand and fortunately I got the steal.”

Jordan, the NBA’s leading scorer, had 22 points on 6-for-19 shooting. He made one of nine shots in the second half.

“I knew they were going to adjust him to me in the closing minutes,” Jordan said.

For much of the first half, the Sonics appeared to be watching the Bulls and not defending them.

“I think we respected them too much in the first half,” Nate McMillan said. “We stood around and watched and they seemed to hit every shot they took.”

The Bulls led 62-44 late in the second quarter and were up 64-51 at halftime. Seattle’s defense dictated the second half as the Bulls shot 25 percent and mustered just 28 second half points.

After falling behind 70-54, the Sonics outscored the Bulls 23-5 to take a 77-75 lead after three quarters. Kemp had 10 points in the period.

The Bulls battled back in the fourth quarter. Luc Longley’s basket and a layup by Tony Kukoc gave Chicago an 87-84 advantage.

Payton tied the game at 87-87 with a 3-point shot. Frank Brickowski made a baseline hook and Payton added a driving layup for a 91-87 lead with 3:13 left.

The Sonics never let the Bulls come closer than 94-92 with 56.6 seconds left.

Pippen had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls. He was 2-for-11 from the free throw line and missed six straight free throws down the stretch.

SuperSonics 97, Bulls 92

FG FT Reb CHICAGO Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Pippen 42 7-16 2-11 2-12 5 5 18 Simpkins 19 2-4 0-0 2-4 3 5 4 Longley 28 7-10 7-9 3-8 3 5 21 Harper 17 1-4 0-0 2-5 4 2 2 Jordan 40 6-19 10-11 2-5 4 1 22 Kukoc 27 4-7 4-6 0-3 3 2 12 Wennington 13 1-3 2-2 1-2 0 2 4 Kerr 24 3-8 0-0 2-3 1 3 7 Caffey 13 0-1 0-0 1-2 0 6 0 Brown 6 1-2 0-2 0-0 1 0 2 Edwards 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Buechler 10 0-0 0-2 0-0 1 1 0 Totals 240 32-74 25-43 15-44 25 32 92

Percentages: FG .432, FT .581.

3-Point Goals: 3-18, .167 (Pippen 2-8, Kerr 1-3, Harper 0-1, Kukoc 0-2, Jordan 0-4).

Team Rebounds: 16. Blocked shots: 3 (Pippen, Longley, Harper). Turnovers: 15 (Jordan 4, Longley 3, Pippen 2, Harper, Kukoc, Caffey, team 3). Steals: 11 (Kukoc 3, Pippen 2, Jordan 2, Longley, Wennington, Caffey, Brown).Technical fouls: None. Illegal defense: 1.

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Kemp 39 10-13 5-11 3-14 2 5 25 Schrempf 37 4-11 3-5 1-8 6 2 11 Brickowski 17 3-5 1-2 0-1 1 6 7 Hawkins 33 1-5 4-4 0-0 1 2 6 Payton 43 10-16 3-6 0-4 11 2 26 Johnson 8 1-2 0-0 0-1 0 2 2 Askew 21 1-2 0-2 0-2 1 2 2 McMillan 22 4-6 0-0 1-2 0 6 9 Perkins 20 2-4 4-4 0-0 1 2 9 Totals 240 36-64 20-34 5-32 23 29 97

Percentages: FG .563, FT .588.

3-Point Goals: 5-15, .333 (Payton 3-8, McMillan 1-1, Perkins 1-1, Hawkins 0-1, Brickowski 0-1, Askew 0-1, Schrempf 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 10. Blocked shots: 3 (Kemp, McMillan, Perkins). Turnovers: 16 (Kemp 4, Schrempf 3, Payton 3, Perkins 3, McMillan, Askew, Brickowski). Steals: 7 (Hawkins 2, McMillan 2, Kemp, Payton, Perkins). Technical foul: Kemp, 1:56 second. Illegal defense: None.

Chicago 35 29 11 17 - 92 Seattle 24 27 26 20 - 97

A-17,072 (17,102). T-2:26.