Sonics Come Up Big In Win Karl Goes With Rockies-Sized Lineup In 106-100 Victory Over Denver

As the SuperSonics’ search for the proper mix continued amid all this chaos of injuries, coach George Karl unfurled a new package at the Denver Nuggets.

Deal with the Curse of the Bigs.

With Kendall Gill in Chicago dealing with symptoms of depression and Vince Askew still working out the plantar fasciaitis problem in his left foot, Karl played an oversized lineup against the Nuggets late in the second quarter and fourth quarter, leading the team to a 106-100 victory.

“For 15-20 minutes, I think it worked well,” Karl said. “With Vince and Kendall absent, it was a way we needed to go. I think our big guys outhustled our small guys.”

Playing the 6-11 Ervin Johnson with 6-10 forwards Sam Perkins, Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf next to 6-5 guard Nate McMillan, it was a real difficult matchup for the Nuggets.

“It was out of necessity,” said Schrempf, of playing the big guard. “I thought it helped us a lot. We played smart and we played hard; moved the ball around to take advantage of our mismatches.”

Schrempf led the Sonics with 29 points, while Kemp had 21 points and 18 rebounds.

Gary Payton added 20 points, including four clutch free throws in the final 31 seconds to put the game away.

“We’re banged up and a little tired,” Payton said. “But we just played hard and did what we were supposed to.”

The win moved the Sonics to 52-21, retaining their half-game lead over Phoenix in the Pacific Division, while the loss was the second in a row for the Nuggets (35-38). Along with the 11 points and five blocks from Johnson, it was particularly a breakthrough game for Kemp against Dikembe Mutombo, who had dominated Kemp for the better part of two years.

“We talked today during the shootaround: It’s time to learn how to play against these guys,” Karl said. “Not allow ego to get in the way, but be smart and patient and run the offense.”

The Sonics shot just 40.5 percent compared to 39.4 for the Nuggets. The difference was at the free-throw line: The Sonics hit 35 of 47 compared to 18 of 24 for the Nuggets.