Baker Rises To Occasion For Sonics

The Seattle SuperSonics still aren’t sure how life will be without Shawn Kemp, but they’re starting to feel better about it.

Gary Payton had 27 points and 12 assists, and the Sonics held Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler in check to beat the Houston Rockets 118-94 Tuesday night.

Vin Baker, Kemp’s replacement, scored 20 points for Seattle.

“I think they’re going to be really impressed with Vin’s play,” Olajuwon said. “I think he’s going to fit very well.”

Baker came to the Sonics from Milwaukee in a three-team trade that sent Kemp to Cleveland, where he got a $107 million contract.

“This win makes me feel great,” Baker said. “To come out and really have a chance to gauge your team against a team like Houston, and play the way we did, makes everyone feel good.”

The Sonics, who blew a 20-point lead in losing their home opener to Dallas on Saturday night, got 22 points from Detlef Schrempf and 17 from reserve Dale Ellis.

Charles Barkley led the Rockets with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

But Seattle, which lost to Houston in the Western Conference semifinals last season, limited Olajuwon to eight points and four rebounds and Drexler to nine points.

Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich was disappointed with his team’s effort.

“To be honest with you, I was shocked at our intensity level,” he said. “It’s just not being ready, and you can’t beat a good team like that by not being ready.”

“It was embarrassing out there,” Barkley said. “We had no discipline.”

SuperSonics 118, Rockets 94

FG FT Reb HOUSTON Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Barkley 28 7-9 2-2 5-11 1 4 17 Elie 23 1-6 1-1 0-1 4 2 3 Olajuwon 32 4-7 0-0 1-4 3 4 8 Drexler 25 3-10 2-2 0-3 0 2 9 Maloney 14 2-5 2-2 0-0 0 1 6 Johnson 25 5-14 3-4 1-4 0 2 15 Bullard 13 3-6 0-0 0-1 1 1 9 Willis 25 3-6 5-6 2-7 1 2 11 Price 22 1-6 1-1 2-3 5 0 4 Rhodes 17 1-5 7-8 0-0 4 3 10 Davis 12 0-1 0-0 0-2 2 1 0 Harrington 4 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 0 2 Totals 240 31-78 23-26 11-36 21 22 94 Percentages: FG .397, FT .885.

3-Point Goals: 9-30, .300 (Bullard 3-5, Johnson 2-6, Rhodes 1-1, Barkley 1-2, Price 1-4, Drexler 1-5, Davis 0-1, Maloney 0-3, Elie 0-3).

Team Rebounds: 13.

Blocked shots: 1 (Olajuwon).

Turnovers: 28 (Maloney 5, Barkley 4, Olajuwon 3, Willis 3, Rhodes 3, Drexler 2, Elie 2, Price 2, Johnson, Davis, team 2).

Steals: 11 (Rhodes 5, Olajuwon 4, Elie, Johnson).

Technical fouls: None.

Illegal defense: None.

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Baker 32 10-14 0-2 1-5 0 4 20 Schrempf 31 5-9 10-10 0-4 6 4 22 Williams 23 5-5 2-2 0-3 0 4 12 Hawkins 25 0-2 2-2 0-3 2 0 2 Payton 38 11-18 3-4 0-3 12 2 27 Perkins 24 2-3 1-2 0-3 2 4 6 Kersey 18 3-7 0-0 2-5 1 3 6 Ellis 20 6-12 2-2 1-1 1 2 17 McIlvaine 11 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 1 0 Anthony 10 0-1 0-0 0-1 5 1 0 Snow 4 1-3 0-0 0-1 0 2 2 Wingate 4 2-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 4 Totals 240 45-77 20-24 5-32 30 27 118 Percentages: FG .584, FT .833.

3-Point Goals: 8-18, .444 (Ellis 3-7, Payton 2-3, Schrempf 2-4, Perkins 1-2, Snow 0-1, Hawkins 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 5.

Blocked shots: 3 (Baker, Williams, Hawkins).

Turnovers: 19 (Baker 4, Payton 3, Anthony 3, Kersey 2, Ellis 2, Schrempf, Williams, Hawkins, McIlvaine, Snow).

Steals: 17 (Payton 6, Baker 3, Hawkins 2, Schrempf, Williams, Perkins, Kersey, Ellis, McIlvaine).

Technical fouls: Illegal defense, 8:54 3rd.

Illegal defense: 1.

Houston 24 23 22 25 - 94

Seattle 29 32 31 26 - 118

A-17,072 (17,072). T-2:06.

Officials-Danny Crawford, Joe DeRosa, Leon Wood.