Sonics Smother New York Defense Carries Seattle To Win

In their continuing search for the lost edge, the Seattle SuperSonics came a step closer to resuming their role as the defensive bad boys of the NBA.

“Between the rule changes and our player changes it just took us a while to find it again,” Sonics forward Shawn Kemp said. “It’s been improving and I think we’re almost there.”

Smothering the New York Knicks inside and coaxing them to fire bricks from the outside, the Sonics rolled to a 93-82 victory Sunday evening before 18,056 in the Tacoma Dome. It was the fourth win in a row for the Sonics (48-20) and ninth win over the past 10 games. The loss dropped the Knicks to 44-23.

“They really disrupt you defensively,” Knicks coach Pat Riley said. “When you only see a team twice a year and don’t have time to prepare for them, it’s tough to play them.”

Consequently, the Knicks shot just 37.7 percent while getting swept in the season series by the Sonics for the first time since the 1987-88 season. Gary Payton was spectacular again, with 26 points and a seasonhigh eight rebounds. Sam Perkins and Detlef Schrempf had 16 points apiece, Kendall Gill 15 and Kemp added 14 points and nine rebounds.

Patrick Ewing led all scorers with 27 points, only nine in the second half. But the Knicks guards struggled, as Derek Harper (1 for 6), John Starks (2 for 16) and Hubert Davis (2 for 11) shot a combined .152 from the field.

“We did get good looks, but you have to adjust yourself in a gym like this because it’s got bad lighting,” Starks said. “It’s a terrible gym for shooters.”

Funny, the Sonics’ guards were a combined 15 for 27.

“They’re just not the same team they were two years ago,” Gill said. “They’ve still got time, but they’re not as good.”

The Sonics blew the game open at the end of the third quarter, and the Knicks never got closer than nine in the final period.

“We came out very sluggish, very lethargic (in the second half),” Riley said. “We turned it over three or four times, didn’t get back on defense and then we’re down 11.”

The game was out of hand from the start, thanks to the officials blowing their whistles on nearly every possession. Forty-five minutes later, the first quarter ended in a deadlock at 24 and it was evident this slow-paced, anger-oriented contest was going the distance.

Payton and Charles Oakley were assessed double-technicals with 3:23 left in the first quarter. And when Oakley ran Gill out of bounds early in the second quarter, there was Payton up off the bench jawing at Oakley. Yeah, it was rough all right; around the edges and in the middle.

“I thought we stood up to them pretty good - mouth-wise and talking-wise,” Sonics coach George Karl said. “I like who they are and I respect them very much. This was a good test.”

The sluggish pace clearly was in the Knicks favor as Ewing continued to stumble around the post with long, slow and repeated steps for bucket after bucket. But each time the Knicks took the lead, the Sonics would come flying back down the floor. Whether it was Payton or Kemp, there was an air about the Sonics that wouldn’t let down. After beating them by 12 in New York two weeks ago with Ewing going down in the second half thanks to a sprained ankle, it was as if the Sonics wanted to beat the Knicks at their own slow, ugly game.

The problem with that was obvious. The Knicks play better that way, and their 17 of 21 free throws compared to the 9 of 13 for the Sonics before intermission allowed them to erase a six-point deficit, with Ewing’s offensive-rebound slam just before the halftime buzzer tying the game at 48.

He had 18 points in the first two quarters and Payton had 13 to lead the Sonics, while Schrempf was 1 for 8 and Starks likewise for the Knicks.

“We just needed to play better defense and keep them off the freethrow line,” Karl said. “Our defense really came alive in the second half.”

Consequently, the free-throw disparity tightened up in the third quarter, and Payton, Kemp and Gill were ramming the ball down the throats of any and all Knicks who dared get in their paths. Plus, Perkins continued to drain 3-pointers. Payton had 10 in the quarter, Perkins eight, and by the time Payton sank four free throws in the final 33.5 seconds of the third period, the Sonics had built a 75-60 lead.

SuperSonics 93, Knicks 82

FG FT Reb NEW YORK Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Bonner 8 0-2 0-0 2-4 0 2 0 Oakley 27 2-4 0-0 3-4 0 2 4 Ewing 41 10-16 7-8 1-8 3 3 27 Harper 33 1-6 2-6 0-1 3 5 4 Starks 40 2-16 4-4 0-4 5 2 10 Smith 24 3-3 4-4 1-4 1 5 10 Mason 26 3-5 4-5 3-10 2 5 10 Davis 28 2-11 2-2 0-1 4 2 7 Anthony 13 3-6 2-2 0-0 1 0 10 Totals 240 26-69 25-31 10-36 19 26 82

Percentages: FG .377, FT .806.

3-Point Goals: 5-28, .179 (Anthony 2-4, Starks 2-14, Davis 1-6, Harper 0-4).

Team Rebounds: 11

Blocked shots: 4 (Oakley, Ewing, Smith, Mason).

Turnovers: 17 (Mason 4, Smith 3, Oakley 2, Ewing 2, Harper 2, Bonner, Starks, Davis, team).

Steals: 3 (Mason 2, Starks).

Technical fouls: Oakley, 3:23, first; Harper, 5:05, fourth; Starks, 3:08, fourth; Illegal defense, 3:30, fourth.

Illegal defense: 1.

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Perkins 28 7-13 0-1 1-5 4 2 16 Schrempf 38 2-13 12-15 1-5 3 5 16 Johnson 21 1-2 0-0 0-3 0 5 2 Gill 35 6-9 1-2 1-3 1 3 15 Payton 41 8-15 5-6 1-8 4 2 26 Kemp 35 5-11 4-6 3-9 1 4 14 Scheffler 10 1-3 0-0 1-1 0 1 2 McMillan 20 0-1 0-0 1-4 2 3 0 Marciulionis 9 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 2 King 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Houston 1 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 Totals 240 31-71 22-30 9-39 15 26 93

Percentages: FG .437, FT .733.

3-Point Goals: 9-21, .429 (Payton 5-9, Gill 2-3, Perkins 2-6, Houston 0-1, Schrempf 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 11

Blocked shots: 6 (McMillan 3, Johnson 2, Payton).

Turnovers: 15 (Kemp 4, Gill 4, Schrempf 2, Payton 2, McMillan, Marciulionis, team).

Steals: 8 (Payton 2, Gill 2, Johnson, Schrempf, Kemp, McMillan).

Technical fouls: Payton, 3:23, first.

Illegal defense: 1. New York 24 24 12 22 - 82 Seattle 24 24 27 17 - 93

A-18,056 (16,296). T-2:14.

Officials-Steve Javie, Nolan Fine, Tom Washington.