Perkins Picks Up Sonics Seattle Wins 10th Straight Game
Sam Perkins is a handy player to have in crunch time - a big man with a delicate shooting touch from the outside.
The 12-year veteran displayed his form Sunday night, scoring 13 of his season-high 22 points in the third quarter when Shawn Kemp was in foul trouble and helping Seattle beat the Los Angeles Clippers 106-101 for its 10th straight victory.
“Somebody had to do it,” Kemp said after the Sonics improved the NBA’s second-best record to 42-12. “We’ve been playing too well for somebody not to pick it up offensively, and Sam was the man tonight.
“He was consistent and played strong when he needed to. He didn’t get some calls when guys fouled him, but he didn’t let it bother him and he worked his way through it.”
Perkins, whose game-winning 3-pointer in Game 1 of the 1991 NBA Finals at Chicago gave the Los Angeles Lakers their only victory of the series, made 4 of 8 from behind the line against the Clippers.
Kemp fouled out with 6 minutes remaining, but his 21 points and 17 rebounds in 25 minutes helped the Sonics send the Clippers to their fourth straight loss and 13th in 14 games.
Brent Barry, recent winner of the All-Star slam-dunk contest, scored a career-high 30 points and Brian Williams added 21, but the Clippers missed 20 of 42 free throws en route to their 10th straight loss to the Sonics.
Loy Vaught, the Clippers’ leading scorer and rebounder, had food poisoning and missed his first game of the season. To make matters worse, frontcourt partner Rodney Rogers picked up three fouls before the game was 7-1/2 minutes old and his fourth just 36 seconds into the second half. He finished with three points in 23 minutes before fouling out with 30 seconds left.
Kemp, who sat on the bench with five fouls through the final 8 minutes of the third quarter, watched helplessly as the Clippers cut Seattle’s nine-point lead from to 85-80 on the fourth of Barry’s five 3-pointers with 6:57 to play.
Kemp returned 35 seconds later and the Sonics outscored L.A. 11-2 over the next 2:10 to open a 96-83 lead.
Game summary can be found on page C3.