Sonics’ Opener Not Super After An Impressive Start, Seattle Fizzles In Dropping A 112-94 Decision To The Jazz

After a focused training camp and a high-caliber series of exhibition games, the Seattle SuperSonics expected to make a strong showing in their opener Friday night.

In the opening minutes, that was the case. Gary Payton drained a 19-foot jumper from the baseline, set up Detlef Schrempf for an easy layup and converted a steal into a layup. Shawn Kemp crashed the boards, tipping in a Payton miss, newcomer Hersey Hawkins rolled off a pick to score an uncontested layup and Schrempf sank two free throws for a seven-point lead.

But was that the extent of the Sonics’ highlight film. Deflated by Kemp’s early foul trouble and overwhelmed by a 20-0 Jazz melody in the second quarter, they lost, 112-94, before 19,911 at the Delta Center.

“It was definitely surprising,” Schrempf said. “Our offense didn’t get anything going between turnovers and bad shooting. And they picked our defense apart with 3-pointers and dunks. Before you know it, we’re down 18 points, and as good as they are, it is hard to come back from that.”

The Sonics drew as close as 11 points, 67-56, with 5:49 left in the third quarter, but the Jazz surged on six points by seven-time All-NBA power forward Karl Malone.

“The Mailman” delivered 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. His sidekick, All-NBA point guard John Stockton, made nine assists and scored 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting.

The battle between two of the NBA’s best point guard/power forward combinations never materialized because Kemp picked up three fouls in the span of 3:35. He left the game with his third foul with 3:54 remaining in the first quarter and the Sonics trailing, 16-14.

Certainly, the Sonics missed Kemp’s interior punch.

“Most of the offense runs through him,” Schrempf said. “When he’s out of the game, we have to improvise.”

But the Sonics seemed to view Kemp’s absence as a lost opportunity to play the Jazz on even terms.

Criticism of the referees who are replacing the regulars on strike was toned down compared to the exhibition season. Yet a feeling persisted that the replacement refs deprived Seattle of a fair fight.

In a sign that he’s learning to deal with the calls, Kemp didn’t blast the substitute refs after fouling out with 5:18 left in the game. Instead, he pondered the challenge of avoiding foul trouble tonight in the Sonics’ home opener against the Lakers.

“I have to think about it on the long flight home,” he said. “Maybe I’m too aggressive early in the game.”

Adding to the Sonics’ malaise over officiating, Frank Brickowski replaced Kemp and was whistled for a foul in 28 seconds. In the first 3-1/2 minutes of the second quarter he was called for three more fouls and Kemp had to make room for him on the bench.

Over the next 5 minutes, the Jazz reeled off 20 points to take a 47-29 lead while the Sonics missed five field-goal attempts and made five turnovers.

The Jazz not only shot 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line (7 for 14), they repeatedly found the open man against the Sonics’ gambling, trapping defense.

“They are the best in the league right now at cutting, curling back, picking and back-dooring,” Sonics coach George Karl said. “We didn’t double-team that much tonight and they still got a lot of easy layups.”

“We were just outhustled, plain and simple,” Hawkins said. “They beat us to the loose balls and they beat us to the boards.”

The rebounding differential was a glaring 44-32 as the Sonics made stars of reserve forward Adam Keefe (16 points, nine rebounds) and rookie Greg Ostertag (seven points, seven rebounds), who played with a pin inside his finger after it was surgically repaired Wednesday.

Jazz 112, SuperSonics 94

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Schrempf 39 9-15 5-5 0-3 1 3 24 Kemp 20 3-7 2-2 2-8 1 6 8 Johnson 23 2-3 0-0 1-5 2 3 4 Hawkins 35 2-7 1-1 1-2 1 2 5 Payton 37 8-14 0-0 1-3 7 3 16 Perkins 30 4-9 6-7 1-5 3 0 14 Brickowski 17 5-8 2-4 2-4 0 4 12 Askew 26 2-4 4-4 0-1 3 2 8 Snow 7 0-2 0-0 0-1 1 0 0 Ford 2 1-1 0-2 0-0 0 0 3 Scheffler 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Wingate 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 240 36-70 20-25 8-32 19 23 94

Percentages: FG .514, FT .800.

3-Point Goals: 2-10, .200 (Ford 1-1, Schrempf 1-3, Hawkins 0-1, Payton 0-1, Askew 0-1, Perkins 0-3.

Team Rebounds: 7

Blocked shots: 9 (Johnson 4, Schrempf, Kemp, Hawkins, Perkins, Askew).

Turnovers: 19 (Payton 5, Schrempf 4, Kemp 2, Hawkins 2, Brickowski 2, Askew 2, Johnson, Perkins).

Steals: 10 (Johnson 2, Hawkins 2, Payton 2, Perkins 2, Kemp, Snow).

Technical fouls: None.

Illegal defense: 1.

FG FT Reb UTAH Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Benoit 30 2-8 2-2 0-2 2 3 7 Malone 41 10-21 6-6 6-11 8 5 26 Foster 18 1-4 1-2 2-6 0 2 3 Morris 26 3-10 4-5 1-3 0 4 11 Stockton 33 7-9 1-1 0-3 9 1 17 Hornacek 28 7-8 3-3 1-1 4 1 19 Watson 18 1-2 1-3 0-1 3 0 3 Ostertag 18 2-7 3-4 4-7 0 2 7 Keefe 24 8-13 0-0 4-9 3 3 16 Russell 2 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 3 Toolson 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 240 42-84 21-26 18-44 29 21 112

Percentages: FG .500, FT .808.

3-Point Goals: 7-14, .500 (Stockton 2-2, Hornacek 2-2, Russell 1-1, Morris 1-3, Benoit 1-4, Toolson 0-1, Watson 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 3

Blocked shots: 2 (Malone, Keefe)

Turnovers: 14 (Malone 3, Watson 3, Stockton 3, Morris 2, Benoit, Hornacek, Keefe).

Steals: 12 (Morris 3, Stockton 3, Malone 2, Hornacek 2, Keefe 2).

Technical fouls: Malone, 8:02 third.

Illegal defense: None. Seattle 26 17 21 30 - 94 Utah 24 37 22 29 - 112

A-19,911 (19,911). T-2:02.