Kemp Learns A Lesson Sonics Show Former Teammate What True Happiness Can Mean

Seattle’s praise for Shawn Kemp was unrelenting - much like the SuperSonics’ defense and fast break.

After the Sonics shut down their former superstar and overwhelmed the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-84 Thursday night, the Seattle locker room sounded like a Kemp fan club meeting. On the court, it was a whole different story.

Vin Baker scored 25 points and held Kemp to 2-for-11 shooting and nine points. Gary Payton scored 25 in the first meeting between the teams since Kemp was traded to Cleveland and the Sonics got Baker from Milwaukee last summer.

Payton, who formed such a scintillating fastbreak tandem with Kemp for eight years in Seattle, was all business.

“I’m just happy for Shawn,” Payton said.

“Whatever happened with Shawn, he got his money, he says he’s happy. If he’s happy, that’s good. I don’t care about anything else.”

A few moments after Kemp shook hands with some of his ex-teammates, the Sonics proved why they might be an even better team without him. The Sonics improved their NBAbest record to 28-6 with their seventh straight and most lopsided win of the year.

“It was over with quickly,” Detlef Schrempf said. “I think we pretty much took all the suspense out of it.”

Baker, a three-time All-Star who went from Milwaukee to Seattle in the three-team trade, dominated Kemp in the first quarter - the only one in which their matchup mattered. The Sonics effectively put the game away in the first few minutes of the second quarter and led 90-56 after three.

Wesley Person had 15 points for the Cavs, who lost their seventh straight to Seattle and haven’t beaten the Sonics at home since 1993.

Cleveland coach Mike Fratello called the loss “a little bit of a humbling experience.”

Kemp called it a nightmare. The only consolation is the Cavs get another shot at the Sonics in Seattle a week from Saturday.

“This was probably the worst night of my nine years,” said Kemp, who was upset about his contract last season before being traded.

The Sonics have said this season that Kemp’s missed practices and other shenanigans hurt them last season. Some felt the five-time AllStar quit on them because he was angry about his contract and wanted out of Seattle.

If the Sonics were looking to make a statement to Kemp, they did it swiftly and overwhelmingly. Baker, coming off a nine-point game against Charlotte, started 4 for 6 for 13 points as the Sonics took a 22-10 lead. Kemp was 0 for 2 with one point in that span.

“I can remember playing the Sonics when Shawn Kemp got that same position on me,” Baker said. “It was just me doing what he had done to me in the past.”

Kemp, swarmed by triple teams all night, finally scored his first field goal with 34 seconds left in the first half. As the game got uglier and uglier for him, Kemp resorted to shaking his head and grimacing, as if elbowed in the gut.

“It was a hard night,” Kemp said. “I remember playing that defense for years and taking guys out of their game.”

SuperSonics 109, Cavaliers 84

FG FT Reb

SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Schrempf 28 3-8 8-8 2-7 4 2 14 Baker 28 9-15 7-8 4-7 1 3 25 McIlvaine 17 0-0 0-1 1-2 0 4 0 Payton 33 9-12 4-4 1-6 4 0 25 Hawkins 25 3-9 0-0 0-1 4 0 8 Perkins 10 0-3 0-0 0-2 1 2 0 Ellis 21 3-5 3-4 1-2 4 2 10 Williams 23 4-9 1-2 1-3 2 1 9 Wingate 18 1-5 1-2 0-5 1 1 3 Anthony 20 2-6 0-0 0-5 3 2 5 Snow 9 1-3 2-3 0-0 2 2 4 Howard 8 3-4 0-0 1-2 0 4 6 Totals 240 38-79 26-32 11-42 26 23 109 Percentages: FG .481, FT .813.

3-Point Goals: 7-15, .367 (Payton 3-3, Hawkins 2-5, Ellis 1-2, Anthony 1-3, Schrempf 0-1, Perkins 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 15. Blocked shots: 5 (Williams 3, Baker, McIlvaine). Turnovers: 18 (Schrempf 5, Payton 3, Wingate 3, Snow 2, Baker, Hawkins, Perkins, Williams, Anthony). Steals: 17 (Payton 5, Anthony 3, Baker 2, Hawkins 2, Perkins 2, Ellis, Williams, Wingate).

FG FT Reb CLEVELAND Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Henderson 32 5-10 1-2 3-9 2 3 11 Kemp 29 2-11 5-8 3-6 3 2 9 Ilgauskas 19 5-7 0-0 3-3 1 3 10 Knight 24 1-3 2-3 2-2 5 4 4 Person 29 6-13 0-0 0-1 1 3 15 Anderson 23 1-7 2-2 0-1 6 1 4 Potapenko 15 2-3 1-2 1-2 2 6 5 Dumas 16 2-5 0-3 1-3 1 1 4 Ferry 18 1-4 0-0 1-4 1 2 2 James 12 3-6 4-4 0-2 0 0 11 Brooks 12 2-4 2-2 0-1 3 2 7 Scott 11 0-3 2-2 2-4 1 1 2 Totals 240 30-76 19-28 16-38 26 28 84 Percentages: FG .395, FT .679. 3-Point Goals: 5-12, .317 (Person 3-7, James 1-1, Brooks 1-1, Anderson 0-1, Dumas 0-1, Ferry 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 8 (Ilgauskas 2, Scott 2, Knight, Person, Anderson, Ferry) Turnovers: 19 (Anderson 4, Henderson 3, Kemp 3, Knight 3, Dumas 3, Ilgauskas, Person, Ferry). Steals: 10 (Henderson 3, Kemp 2, Anderson 2, Brooks 2, Person).

Seattle 35 23 32 19 - 109

Cleveland 18 14 24 28 - 84

A-17,047 (20,562). T-2:02.