Sonics Drop Clippers For League-Best 50th Win

LaMond Murray took two swings Wednesday, but the Seattle SuperSonics delivered the knockout blow.

Dale Ellis matched his season high with 23 points and the Sonics became the NBA’s first 50-game winner this season with a 99-80 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Sonics (50-15) outscored the Clippers 26-11 in the fourth quarter to post their fifth straight victory.

Murray of the Clippers and Jerome Kersey of the Sonics were ejected with 1:59 left in the third quarter.

It started as a shoving match, and Murray threw two punches before the players were restrained and then ejected.

The Sonics outscored the Clippers 28-12 the rest of the way.

“The game changed from a stale, slow game to more of an upcourt game after the incident,” Sonics coach George Karl said. “We seemed to have more energy than them after that.”

Clippers coach Bill Fitch said the loss of Murray was decisive.

“He is a vital guy for us and his loss de-energized us,” Fitch said.

Seattle swept the four-game season series from the Clippers and moved two games ahead of the Utah Jazz in the race for the best record in the Western Conference. The Jazz had their 11-game winning streak snapped by the Charlotte Hornets 111-85.

Ellis, who leads the NBA in 3-point shooting accuracy, was 3 for 6 from beyond the arc and scored five points in a 14-0 run that gave the Sonics a 91-75 lead with six minutes remaining.

“They turned up their defense and Ellis hit some key shots for them,” said Eric Piatkowski, who led the Clippers with 17 points.

Vin Baker had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Sonics, while Gary Payton had 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Rodney Rogers scored 15 points for the Clippers.

Seattle’s defense stiffened in the fourth period. The Sonics forced eight turnovers and converted them into 13 points. The Clippers missed 14 of 18 shots from the field in the period and made only two baskets in the last 9:39.

The Clippers pulled within 79-75 on a dunk by Lorenzen Wright with 9:36 left, but the Sonics then ran off 14 straight points before Isaac Austin dunked with 5:26 remaining.

Seattle’s bench outscored the Clippers’ reserves 46-20. Greg Anthony had 10 points, five assists and four steals off the bench for the Sonics.

Anthony’s steal and layup gave Seattle a 48-35 lead, but the Clippers used a 15-4 spurt to close within 52-50.

Notes

Under Karl, the Sonics have won 50 or more games six consecutive seasons. With 17 games left, they still have a chance to eclipse the franchise mark of 64 wins set during the 1995-96 season. The Sonics won 50 or more games only three times before Karl’s arrival midway through the 1991-92 season… . Karl said Gary Payton merits selection to the All-NBA first team. “He’s deserving. It’ll be interesting to see who they pick at the point guard.” … Payton was second-team All-NBA last year… . Gus Williams was the last Sonic to make the first team in 1981-82… . Baker, who is fifth in the league in shooting accuracy, missed his first six shots.

SuperSonics 99, Clippers 80

FG FT Reb L.A. CLIP PERS Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Murray 25 4-9 4-5 3-5 2 1 12 Rogers 42 6-13 2-2 1-8 2 4 15 Austin 26 1-5 1-2 2-6 3 5 3 Martin 30 4-10 5-6 0-3 5 4 13 Piatkowski 37 6-12 3-4 1-6 2 0 17 Wright 26 1-4 2-4 2-9 1 4 4 Taylor 24 5-8 0-2 2-3 0 4 10 Richardson 18 2-6 0-0 0-1 2 1 4 Smith 11 1-6 0-0 1-1 1 0 2 Closs 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Totals 240 30-73 17-25 12-42 18 24 80 Percentages: FG .411, FT .680.

3-Point Goals: 3-21, .143 (Piatkowski 2-7, Rogers 1-5, Austin 0-1, Richardson 0-1, Murray 0-2, Martin 0-2, Smith 0-3).

Team Rebounds: 7.

Blocked shots: 5 (Rogers 2, Wright 2, Taylor).

Turnovers: 20 (Austin 5, Smith 4, Rogers 3, Murray 2, Piatkowski, Wright, Taylor, Richardson, team 2).

Steals: 8 (Martin 3, Murray 2, Taylor 2, Wright).

Technical fouls: Murray, 1:59, third.

Flagrant fouls: Wright, 4:29, fourth.

Ejections: Murray, 1:59, third.

Illegal defense: None.

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Baker 33 6-15 5-8 2-8 4 3 17 Schrempf 38 3-8 4-4 0-5 3 4 10 McIlvaine 14 1-4 2-2 3-4 0 3 4 Hawkins 32 4-6 1-1 4-9 3 5 10 Payton 31 5-14 0-0 0-9 8 3 12 Williams 11 0-3 3-6 0-0 0 1 3 Ellis 29 9-12 2-4 0-3 0 1 23 Perkins 19 3-4 0-0 1-2 0 3 6 Kersey 11 1-4 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 Anthony 19 4-7 0-0 1-3 5 0 10 Zedik 3 0-2 2-2 0-1 0 1 2 Totals 240 36-79 19-27 13-46 24 25 99 Percentages: FG .456, FT .704.

3-Point Goals: 8-19, .421 (Ellis 3-6, Anthony 2-4, Payton 2-7, Hawkins 1-2).

Team Rebounds: 7.

Blocked shots: 4 (McIlvaine 2, Hawkins, Perkins).

Turnovers: 14 (Schrempf 5, Anthony 3, Payton 2, Ellis 2, Hawkins, Perkins).

Steals: 11 (Anthony 4, Payton 2, Baker, Schrempf, Hawkins, Williams, Kersey).

Technical fouls: Baker, 3:15, third; Kersey, 1:59, third.

Ejections: Kersey, 1:59, third.

Illegal defense: None. L.A. Clippers 25 25 19 11 - 80 Seattle 32 22 19 26 - 99 A-17,072 (17,072). T-2:03.