Payton, Kemp Set On The Suns All-Star Duo Combine For 51; Sonics’ Hot Streak Hits 13-1

For the Seattle SuperSonics, all it really took was a pair of All-Stars to defeat the Phoenix Suns.

Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp combined for 51 points as the Sonics rolled to their 13th win in 14 games, 105-92 over Phoenix on Friday night.

“When we finally did go to our strengths, it made a big difference in the game,” coach George Karl said. “We didn’t do a good job of going to Gary and Shawn consistently. When we did, they had their way.”

Kemp muscled inside for 25 points and 13 rebounds while handing off five assists, and Payton scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. He added seven assists, two steals and no turnovers in 39 minutes.

Craig Ehlo also gave the Sonics a lift in the fourth quarter, scoring nine of the Sonics’ first 15 points by hitting four consecutive shots.

“Shawn and Gary were the keys in the game,” Ehlo said. “They (Suns) don’t have anyone to match up with them.”

Rex Chapman’s baseline jumper pulled the Suns within six, 78-72 with 9:27 left, but the Sonics broke the game open with a 13-4 run the next 7 minutes for a 91-76 lead.

The Suns went 4:19 without scoring as they lost for the 14th time in 15 games. Danny Manning led the Suns with 18 points and 15 rebounds in 27 minutes. Six Suns scored in double figures.

Kevin Johnson, who missed the first 11 games because of hernia surgery, had 13 points and 10 assists. Johnson, the only remaining player from the 1993 team that went to the NBA Finals, said three good quarters weren’t enough against Seattle.

“When you play a good team, you need 48 minutes. We broke down both offensively and defensively in the fourth quarter,” he said.

The Sonics outscored the Suns 35-26 in the fourth quarter, with Ehlo scoring nine and Kemp six.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Ehlo and Payton opened a 78-68 lead with 10:31 left. The Suns came no closer than six the rest of the way.

The Suns hung tough most of the game. Eric Snow’s free throw put the Sonics up 70-61, but the Suns closed to 70-66 after three periods on two free throws by Johnson and Chapman’s 3-point shot.

The first half was tight. Phoenix led 41-35 before an 8-0 Seattle run.

SuperSonics 105, Suns 92

FG FT Reb PHOENIX Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Finley 22 3-12 0-0 0-0 1 0 7 Green 25 5-6 0-0 3-8 1 2 10 Williams 34 4-10 2-2 3-7 1 4 10 K.Johnson 35 3-12 7-8 1-5 10 2 13 Pearson 32 4-13 0-0 0-2 1 2 9 Manning 27 8-13 2-2 5-15 3 6 18 Horry 20 1-3 0-0 0-4 3 4 2 Chapman 24 3-6 4-4 1-3 2 3 11 Nash 21 5-7 0-0 0-2 2 2 12 Totals 240 36-82 15-16 13-46 24 25 92

Percentages: FG .439, FT .938.

3-Point Goals: 5-16, .313 (Nash 2-3, Chapman 1-2, Finley 1-4, Pearson 1-5, Johnson 0-1, Horry 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 2.

Blocked shots: 1 (Williams).

Turnovers: 19 (Nash 4, Pearson 3, Williams 3, Johnson 2, Manning 2, Chapman 2, Horry, Finley, team).

Steals: 5 (Chapman 2, Horry, Manning, Pearson).

Technical fouls: None.

Illegal defense: 1.

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Kemp 39 11-18 3-4 3-13 5 1 25 Schrempf 38 6-14 2-7 1-9 5 2 14 McIlvaine 12 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 4 Hawkins 36 3-6 0-0 0-3 5 5 8 Payton 39 9-18 7-9 0-3 7 3 26 Perkins 22 3-7 2-4 1-3 1 0 10 Ehlo 20 5-11 0-0 2-3 2 1 12 Stewart 14 0-1 1-2 2-4 0 2 1 Snow 18 1-3 1-2 0-2 4 2 3 Wingate 1 0-0 2-2 0-0 0 0 2 Graham 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 240 40-80 18-30 9-40 29 16 105 Percentages: FG .500, FT .600.

3-Point Goals: 7-22, .318 (Ehlo 2-3, Perkins 2-4, Hawkins 2-5, Payton 1-6, Snow 0-1, Schrempf 0-3).

Team Rebounds: 11.

Blocked shots: 3 (Kemp 2, McIlvaine).

Turnovers: 14 (Kemp 4, Schrempf 4, Ehlo 3, Hawkins 2, team).

Steals: 13 (Perkins 3, Stewart 3, Snow 2, Payton 2, Hawkins 2, Schrempf).

Technical fouls: None.

Illegal defense: 1.

Phoenix 19 28 19 26 - 92 Seattle 25 24 21 35 - 105

A-17,072 (17,072). T-2:10.

Officials-Ron Garretson, Bob Delaney, Kevin Fehr.