Rewarding Trip Sonics Jam Knicks For 60th

The Seattle SuperSonics pulled off two rare feats Monday, reaching 60 victories and finishing off a 6,000-mile, one-day trip.

The Sonics beat the New York Knicks 108-98 in a game postponed three months ago by a blizzard that dumped 2 feet of snow across the Eastern seaboard. It was played early in the afternoon because the New York Rangers played a hockey game at home Monday night.

Seattle had to fly across the continent Sunday, and it started snowing in Manhattan after they arrived. After the game, they trudged back to the airport for the return trip home.

But they didn’t let the jet lag or the Knicks’ physical play stop them from becoming the second NBA team to reach 60 victories this season. The franchise record is 63 set in 1993-94.

Shawn Kemp, who lost his temper after Charles Oakley bloodied his nose with an elbow in the third quarter, led Seattle with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Detlef Schrempf had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Hersey Hawkins added 20 points.

“This was basically an 8:30 a.m. game. This was not a happy place this morning. This was supposed to be our first three-day weekend in the last two months of the season,” Schrempf said after Seattle’s 10th win in 11 games. “We were ready to pay the fine and just go home. But once we got on the floor, we came alive. We always do.”

“So much has been made about the Bulls and 70 victories. We just kind of sit back and stay out of the limelight. We play in the West and aren’t on TV as much, but we’re proud of what we accomplished,” Sam Perkins said.

The Sonics outrebounded New York 49-33 and forced turnovers on four consecutive Knicks possessions in the fourth quarter as they put the game away with an 11-0 run.

Several thousand seats were empty when the game began, and Madison Square Garden was strangely quiet for the first two quarters. The mood changed dramatically in the third quarter, however, as Kemp knocked over two chairs after getting elbowed by Oakley, Gary Payton got in the face of several Knicks and Schrempf threatened to settle his differences with Patrick Ewing after the game.

Seattle led by as many as 14 and as few as four in the quarter and continued to play with emotion in the fourth period.

“When we get an aggressive and tough mentality, that’s when we play best. When it got physical like that, I knew we were going to fight the rest of the way,” coach George Karl said.

The Knicks pulled within four 4 minutes into the fourth quarter when Anthony Mason hit a jump hook in the lane to make the score 90-86, but that was New York’s last field goal until 2:11 remained.

Seattle got a driving one-hander from Perkins and a driving basket from Vincent Askew for an eight-point lead with 7:17 left.

A foul shot by Ewing pulled New York within seven, but Seattle ran away as Payton had a 3-pointer and a jumper, Perkins scored on a drive, Hawkins made a layup and Kemp a double-pump jam for an 11-0 run.

Seattle, with the best record in the Western Conference, snapped New York’s two-game winning streak.

“When a team puts that kind of pressure on you, you have to pressure them back. As a team, we cannot accept mediocrity, but that’s what this team is doing,” the Knicks’ John Starks said.

Derek Harper led the Knicks with 22 points and Mason had 19. Ewing had was just 5 of 21 from the field and scored just 14.

The Sonics had 33 fast-break points to the Knicks’ 11 and held New York to two field goals the first 9 minutes of the fourth quarter.

“It was their quickness level that hurt us,” Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. “They contested every pass and every dribble. They’re a very intense team and obviously, they disrupted us very much.”

“Frankly, over the past four games we’ve reverted back to a lot of bad habits and our attitude toward the preparation that goes into a game has taken a step back. When our attitude gets better, our game will get better,” he said.

Sonics notes

When Kemp came off the court bleeding from the nose in the third quarter, he elbowed two chairs. When he went back, he flung the ball away after being fouled, but the officials did not hit him with what would have been his second technical foul. … It was the Knicks’ 165th consecutive sellout, although quite a few seats were empty. … The Knicks were outscored by nine points when backup point guard Charlie Ward played 6 minutes in the second quarter. In the past few weeks, New York has consistently fallen behind nearly every time Ward has played.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Seattle SuperSonics 108, Knicks 98 FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Kemp 35 7-14 11-14 8-13 2 4 25 Schrempf 37 7-16 5-6 1-8 6 2 24 Johnson 22 3-8 0-0 5-11 1 1 6 Payton 38 6-12 2-2 1-3 9 2 15 Hawkins 33 8-11 1-1 2-2 1 3 20 Askew 23 3-7 0-0 0-4 2 2 6 McMillan 20 1-2 1-2 1-6 5 2 4 Perkins 26 3-8 2-2 0-2 1 2 8 Snow 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Scheffler 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Wingate 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 240 38-78 22-27 18-49 27 19 108 Percentages: FG .487, FT .815. 3-Point Goals: 10-20, .500 (Schrempf 5-7, Hawkins 3-3, McMillan 1-1, Payton 1-5, Perkins 0-4). Team Rebounds: 9. Blocked shots: 5 (Kemp 2, Johnson 2, McMillan). Turnovers: 17 (Kemp 4, Schrempf 3, Payton 2, Askew 2, McMillan 2, Johnson, Hawkins, Perkins, Snow). Steals: 10 (Payton 4, Kemp 2, Hawkins 2, McMillan, Perkins). Technical fouls: Kemp, 9:03 first; Payton, 6:02 third; Snow, :39 fourth. Illegal defense: 1. FG FT Reb NEW YORK Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Oakley 29 3-8 1-1 3-6 3 4 7 Mason 41 7-10 5-6 6-8 6 2 19 Ewing 36 5-21 4-6 4-12 0 2 14 Starks 31 5-12 0-0 0-0 4 3 13 Harper 34 8-14 0-0 1-1 6 1 22 Davis 23 1-5 6-6 0-2 3 1 9 Reid 22 1-6 1-1 2-2 0 2 3 Williams 12 4-5 0-0 0-0 0 1 9 Ward 9 0-2 0-0 0-1 2 1 0 Lohaus 3 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 2 Totals 240 35-84 17-20 16-33 24 17 98 Percentages: FG .417, FT .850. 3-Point Goals: 11-21, .524 (Harper 6-7, Starks 3-8, Williams 1-1, Davis 1-2, Ward 0-2, Ewing 0-1). Team Rebounds: 6. Blocked shots: 8 (Ewing 4, Oakley, Mason, Reid, Williams). Turnovers: 18 (Oakley 5, Mason 3, Ewing 3, Starks 3, Harper 2, Reid, Wadr). Steals: 10 (Oakley 2, Ewing 2, Starks 2, Reid 2, Ward, Davis). Technical fouls: Oakley, 9:03 first; Reid, 7:38 second. Illegal defense: None. Seattle 32 33 23 20 - 108 New York 27 26 29 16 - 98 A-19,763 (19,763). T-2:08.