Askew Stays In For Win Sonics Toughman Leads Way In Victory Over Warriors

Tough, take-no-prisoners Seattle SuperSonics swingman Vincent Askew was hurting.

Caught in the mouth by an elbow from Golden State’s Chris Gatling, his tooth ached. It hurt less to close his bleeding mouth, but the end-to-end pace made breathing through his nose almost impossible.

“It was killing me,” Askew admitted. “I wanted to come out.”

But Askew wouldn’t allow himself to seriously consider leaving such a close contest.

That’s why he was in the right spot to steal the ball from Joe Smith and block Tim Hardaway’s shot in the closing minutes Monday of the Sonics’ 104-95 victory over the Warriors at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

Along with his defensive contributions, Askew scored six of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, when the Sonics outscored the Warriors 33-20.

Teammates Hersey Hawkins and Gary Payton also made the plays that made the difference in a game the Sonics did not control until the final 90 seconds.

Even then, Sonics coach George Karl did not let up. When Shawn Kemp’s travel wiped out a fast break with 1:15 remaining and the Sonics leading by eight, Karl slammed a fist on the scorer’s table.

Karl, forced to resign as Warriors coach in 1988, didn’t allow himself a smile until Kemp made a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left for a nine-point lead that improved the Pacific Division-leading Sonics to 25-10.

Askew, a member of the Warriors in 1991-92, shares his coach’s sentiments about playing Golden State.

“I love to play against those guys,” he said. “And I love to win here.”

Payton, who grew up in Oakland, plays as though he feels the same way. But after scoring a team-high 23 points and making nine assists, he said there was nothing special about it.

He was pleased, however, to rebound from what he called a “terrible” third quarter.

“In the fourth quarter, Nate (McMillan) and Vinnie came in and turned it up a notch,” Payton said. “We started pushing our defense up and started to make things happen.”

With 3:08 left and the Sonics leading 87-86, Payton started a 10-3 run with three free throws after he was fouled attempting a 3-pointer. After a leaning jumper by Hardaway, Hawkins found Sam Perkins under the basket.

“I knew someone was open,” Hawkins said. “I’m used to Sam being out on the perimeter. I could see only three (teammates) and I knew someone else was out there. Then, I happened to spot him. He did a good job of getting the shot up quick before he was called for 3 seconds (in the key).”

Afterward, Perkins told Hawkins he was open for a while.

“He told me he didn’t want to holler,” Hawkins said. “I said, ‘Sam, please! Next time, holler.”’

Hollering isn’t Perkins’ style. More importantly, he didn’t want the refs to notice him parked.

“I was there so long I didn’t want to take Hersey’s option away, and I was leery of a 3-second call,” Perkins said.

Perkins’ basket increased the Sonics’ lead to 92-88, and after Hardaway missed a 3-pointer, the Sonics went up by six on a layin by Hawkins off a pass from Payton.

Warriors’ forward Jerome Kersey countered with a bullish, seemingly uncontested drive. At the last second, Perkins knocked the ball out of his hands.

Although Perkins was called for a foul, he prevented a layup and Kersey sank only one free throw.

On the ensuing possession, the Sonics made a series of passes, ending up with Hawkins, who canned a 3 over Latrell Sprewell.

“I think I more or less surprised Sprewell,” said Hawkins, who finished with 22 points. “He was right there, so he didn’t think I was going to shoot it.”

Hawkins’ 3 increased the Sonics’ lead to eight, and although Smith sank two free throws to cut it to six, Askew’s 8-footer put the Sonics comfortably ahead, 99-91 with 47 seconds left.

“They outhustled us in the first half,” McMillan said. “So we talked about getting the loose balls and the rebounds.”

Sonics 104, Warriors 95

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Kemp 39 7-15 3-4 3-14 4 4 17 Perkins 32 4-14 1-2 7-11 3 4 11 Johnson 26 3-7 0-2 4-5 0 2 6 Hawkins 38 8-14 3-3 0-2 5 3 22 Payton 41 7-17 7-9 1-6 9 1 23 Askew 31 6-13 4-4 2-4 2 1 17 McMillan 21 3-7 0-0 3-6 5 1 6 Wingate 11 1-1 0-0 0-2 3 3 2 Scheffler 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 240 39-88 18-24 20-50 31 19 104

Percentages: FG .443, FT .750.

3-Point Goals: 8-25, .320 (Hawkins 3-6, Payton 2-6, Perkins 2-7, Askew 1-3, McMillan 0-3).

Team Rebounds: 9.

Blocked shots: 6 (Kemp 3, Perkins, Johnson, Askew).

Turnovers: 17 (Kemp 5, Hawkins 3, Payton 3, Askew 3, Wingate 2, Johnson).

Steals: 10 (McMillan 3, Payton 2, Askew 2, Kemp, Perkins, Hawkins).

Technical fouls: Illegal defense, 5:35 second.

Illegal defense: 1.

FG FT Reb GOLDEN STATE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Kersey 31 4-7 1-2 6-9 0 4 9 Smith 39 4-11 10-13 6-12 2 3 18 Rozier 21 2-6 0-2 1-3 0 3 4 Armstrong 21 0-6 0-0 1-3 2 1 0 Sprewell 42 10-18 3-3 1-3 5 2 26 Hardaway 32 6-18 0-0 0-6 9 2 15 Gatling 15 4-5 0-0 1-3 0 5 8 Mullin 30 4-13 1-1 1-4 3 1 10 Barry 9 2-2 1-1 0-0 2 0 5 Totals 240 36-86 16-22 17-43 23 21 95

Percentages: FG .419, FT .727.

3-Point Goals: 7-21, .333 (Sprewell 3-5, Hardaway 3-8, Mullin 1-6, Smith 0-1, Armstrong 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 9.

Blocked shots: 9 (Smith 5, Mullin 2, Rozier, Gatling).

Turnovers: 19 (Kersey 4, Sprewell 3, Mullin 3, Smith 2, Rozier 2, Hardaway 2, Barry 2, Armstrong).

Steals: 7 (Smith 4, Kersey, Rozier, Mullin).

Technical fouls: Illegal defense, 5:12 fourth.

Illegal defense: 1.

Seattle 29 24 18 33 - 104

Golden State 22 31 22 20 - 95

A-15,025 (15,025). T-2:04.

Officials-Derrick Stafford, Jess Kersey, Scott Foster.