Sonics Just Too Much For Warriors Payton Scores 5th Triple-Double As Seattle Rolls To 14-Point Win

The Golden State Warriors’ motto this season has been “Thunder by the Bay.”

It should read “Plunder by the Bay.”

Behind the fifth triple-double of Gary Payton’s career, the Seattle SuperSonics added to the Warriors’ year of misery by dumping a 101-87 loss on them Tuesday night at the New Arena in Oakland, completing a two-game sweep of them in a span of 10 days.

The circus surrounding the Warriors since former guard Latrell Sprewell choked coach P.J. Carlesimo is now almost an afterthought around here, but the Warriors (7-21) still are playing the part of clowns on the court.

They actually made this affair more competitive than the 108-89 thrashing Seattle laid on them prior to Christmas, but the Warriors are a team that simply lacks the talent level of Seattle.

With that in mind, the Sonics won their third consecutive game to improve to a league-best 24-6. It was Seattle’s 18th win in their past 21 games as they head home for a two-day break before facing Philadelphia on Friday.

Playing before friends and family that had him hunting for tickets an hour prior to tipoff, Payton led the Sonics with 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to continue along what some are calling an MVP-like season. He stepped out on the court with an attitude and left it with an even bigger one.

Dale Ellis had 21 points off the bench, including 16 in the first half. Ellis’ points included four 3-pointers. Vin Baker had a rough start but ended with 16 points and five rebounds and Detlef Schrempf contributed 14 points, five rebounds and six assists.

In the first half, the Warriors were surprisingly competitive, trailing only 57-55 going into imtermission. The only thing that did not go the Warriors’ way was a three-quarter court shot by Donyell Marshall that swished in but was waved off for being taken after the buzzer.

But if anything, the first half showed the merits of home-court advantage. Had this game been in Seattle the starters probably could have rested in the second half because it likely would have been over.

But Golden State shot 56.8 percent, including a 5-for-7 half by Brian Shaw and a 7-for-11 half by Joe Smith. Smith had 15 points in the half and Shaw 12, while Donyell Marshall, who missed the first meeting between the teams with a sore back, added 11 points.

Payton paced Seattle in the first half with 13 points, but only two in the second quarter. Dale Ellis continued to burn the nets with 16 first-half points, including three 3-pointers.

The Sonics kept jumping out to leads, but the Warriors refused to fold and were able to hang. After a first quarter in which the Warriors led 30-27, the Sonics opened the second quarter with two straight baskets to gain the lead.

Seattle then got ahead to a 46-40 edge, but the Warriors came back to tie the game at 50. Seattle went ahead again 57-52 on Ellis’ third 3-pointer, but Marshall ended the half with a basket and was fouled for 57-55.

Seattle then opened the second half with a 7-0 run that got them a 64-55 lead.

SuperSonics 101, Warriors 87

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Baker 37 5-15 6-9 1-5 3 2 16 Schrempf 33 5-10 3-4 1-5 6 2 14 McIlvaine 19 2-5 0-0 1-2 0 3 4 Hawkins 25 3-5 2-2 0-3 2 0 9 Payton 41 9-12 2-2 1-10 11 1 22 Perkins 22 3-7 0-0 1-4 0 0 7 Ellis 30 8-14 1-2 2-5 4 3 21 Williams 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Wingate 13 2-4 0-0 0-0 2 1 4 Anthony 9 2-5 0-0 0-0 1 1 4 Cotton 2 0-3 0-0 1-3 0 0 0 Snow 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 Totals 240 39-81 14-19 8-37 30 15 101 Percentages: FG .481, FT .737. 3-Point Goals: 9-19, .474 (Ellis 4-5, Payton 2-4, Perkins 1-3, Schrempf 1-2, Hawkins 1-2, Anthony 0-2, Cotton 0-1). Team Rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 6 (McIlvaine 3, Perkins, Wingate, Snow). Turnovers: 16 (Payton 5, Anthony 3, Schrempf 3, Baker, Hawkins, Ellis, Wingate, Snow). Steals: 16 (Hawkins 4, Payton 4, Williams 3, Ellis 2, Baker, Schrempf, Cotton). Technical fouls: None. Illegal defense: None.

FG FT Reb GOLDEN STATE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Marshall 42 8-19 1-1 4-5 4 2 18 Smith 41 11-19 1-2 4-12 1 3 23 Dampier 39 4-8 1-3 2-9 3 1 9 Shaw 37 6-11 0-0 0-4 8 2 14 Coles 42 7-16 2-2 0-4 8 3 16 Foyle 10 1-3 0-2 0-5 0 2 2 Delk 17 1-5 0-0 0-1 1 1 2 Spencer 12 1-2 1-2 3-5 1 2 3 Totals 240 39-83 6-12 13-45 26 16 87 Percentages: FG .470, FT .500.

3-Point Goals: 3-7, .429 (Shaw 2-3, Marshall 1-3, Delk 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 8.

Blocked shots: 9 (Smith 4, Dampier 3, Marshall, Foyle).

Turnovers: 22 (Smith 8, Dampier 4, Shaw 3, Coles 3, Delk 2, Spencer, Marshall).

Steals: 11 (Marshall 4, Coles 3, Smith 2, Dampier, Delk).

Technical fouls: None.

Illegal defense: 1.

Seattle 27 30 27 17 - 101

Golden State 30 25 19 13 - 87

A-11,641 (18,500). T-1:56.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Associated Press By Frank Hughes Tacoma News Tribune