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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sonics Excited To See Mcmillan Denver Falls 108-81 As Seattle Welcomes Its Emotional Leader

Associated Press

With Nate McMillan, the Seattle SuperSonics may be the best team in the West again.

That’s the impression they left on the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.

“If they can avoid injury, there’s nothing limiting them except Michael (Jordan),” Denver coach Dick Motta said after watching the Sonics welcome back McMillan with a 108-81 victory.

McMillan, who has been out since Dec. 12 because of a torn groin muscle, played 16 minutes, hit a 3-pointer in the final quarter and added five assists. He also had three steals and a blocked shot.

McMillan, 32, who was hampered by injuries last season when the Sonics made it to the NBA Finals to face Jordan and the Bulls, said he’s not sure he’s 100 percent yet.

“This was a big test for me,” he said. “I felt OK tonight, but the next week or so is going to tell the story. I’ll see what happens in the next week or so.”

The 11-year veteran is the club’s career leader in assists and steals.

“Nate played well,” Hersey Hawkins said. “He means so much to this club. We’re a good team without him, but he makes us a lot better.”

“It’s great to have him back,” Detlef Schrempf said. “He’s a big part of this team. It means a lot to us when he’s out there on the court.”

Said coach George Karl: “It’s nice to have him. He really doesn’t have to play well for me to get excited. He just makes the pieces fit.”

The Sonics, who got 28 points from Gary Payton, broke a two-game losing streak and won for only the third time in seven games. They had dropped three of their last four at home.

Dale Ellis had 19 points for the Nuggets, who had a season-high 29 turnovers that Seattle turned into 33 points.

“You hope you’re not on the receiving end in a game like this,” Denver’s LaPhonso Ellis said. “They did a wonderful job defensively and a great job converting our turnovers into points.”

Shawn Kemp, who did not start either half because he missed Monday’s practice, contributed 12 points. Hawkins, Sam Perkins and Jim McIlvaine each had 11 for the Sonics.

The Sonics beat Denver for the eighth time in nine games and for the second time this season. They broke the Nuggets’ a two-game winning streak.

The game was effectively over after three quarters and Payton sat on the bench for the final 12 minutes.

Payton scored 13 of his points in the third period as the Sonics expanded their 16-point halftime lead.

Notes

Seattle center Jim McIlvaine outscored last season’s Sonics center, Ervin Johnson, now of Denver, 11-9. Johnson had a 9-6 edge in rebounds. Johnson also blocked seven shots. … Larry Stewart started in place of Kemp, Stewart’s first start of the season… . Mark Jackson of Denver, who leads the league in assists, had four in 31 minutes. Payton had nine assists… . Kemp tied a season high with five steals.

SuperSonics 108, Nuggets 81

FG FT Reb DENVER Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts L.Ellis 28 4-9 2-2 1-1 2 4 10 McDyess 34 5-9 0-0 1-6 3 2 10 Johnson 33 4-6 1-2 3-9 2 5 9 Jackson 34 3-5 0-0 0-4 4 1 7 Stith 30 4-10 2-2 0-2 1 1 10 D.Ellis 24 6-11 5-5 2-6 1 2 19 Pierce 17 3-9 4-4 0-0 1 0 10 Hammonds 14 1-2 0-0 1-3 1 1 2 Smith 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 B.Thompson 11 0-5 0-0 1-1 3 0 0 Ham 7 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 4 L.Thompson 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Totals 240 32-70 14-15 9-32 19 18 81

Percentages: FG .457, FT .933.

3-Point Goals: 3-13, .231 (D.Ellis 2-3, Jackson 1-2, Pierce 0-1, Smith 0-1, B.Thompson 0-3, L.Ellis 0-3).

Team Rebounds: 7.

Blocked shots: 10 (Johnson 7, McDyess 2, Stith).

Turnovers: 29 (McDyess 6, Jackson 5, Stith 4, Johnson 3, Pierce 3, Ham 2, L.Ellis, D.Ellis, Hammonds, team 3).

Steals: 9 (McDyess 3, Jackson 2, Stith 2, B.Thompson, L.Thompson).

Technical fouls: None.

Illegal defense: None.

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Stewart 17 3-5 2-2 2-4 1 0 8 Schrempf 29 3-9 0-0 4-8 2 2 6 McIlvaine 29 3-8 5-6 3-5 1 4 11 Hawkins 27 5-7 0-0 1-2 3 2 11 Payton 33 13-25 1-2 1-2 9 0 28 Perkins 15 4-7 2-2 1-2 1 0 11 Kemp 21 4-9 4-4 2-5 3 3 12 McMillan 16 1-4 0-0 0-1 5 1 3 Wingate 20 1-4 0-0 1-3 2 4 2 Cummings 14 3-7 2-2 1-5 1 3 8 Ehlo 12 3-5 0-0 1-1 1 1 6 Snow 7 1-2 0-0 0-1 1 0 2 Totals 240 44-92 16-18 17-39 30 20 108

Percentages: FG .478, FT .889.

3-Point Goals: 4-18, .222 (McMillan 1-3, Perkins 1-3, Hawkins 1-3, Payton 1-7, Ehlo 0-1, Schrempf 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 11.

Blocked shots: 6 (McIlvaine 2, Hawkins, Perkins, Kemp, McMillan).

Turnovers: 17 (Kemp 5, Schrempf 3, Payton 3, Wingate 3, Stewart, Hawkins, team).

Steals: 18 (Kemp 5, Hawkins 4, Payton 3, McMillan 3, Stewart, McIlvaine, Perkins).

Technical fouls: None.

Illegal defense: 1. Denver 23 18 18 22 - 81 Seattle 23 34 27 24 - 108 A-17,072 (17,072). T-2:00.

Officials-Ed Middleton, Bruce Alexander, Gary Benson.