Sonics top Warriors
SEATTLE — Luke Ridnour scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and the Seattle SuperSonics rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit for a 117-115 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night.
Ridnour made a pair of crucial 3-pointers, including one as the shot clock expired, and his driving floater with 2:45 left gave Seattle a 110-105 lead. Golden State got to 115-112 on Matt Barnes’ three-point play with 10.4 seconds left, but Ridnour countered with a pair of free throws with 8.8 seconds left.
It was Seattle’s fourth straight home win, getting them back to .500 at home after a 2-6 start.
Rashard Lewis scored 25 points to help the Sonics win their third straight without leading scorer Ray Allen. Damien Wilkins, starting for Allen, scored a season-high 22 and led Seattle with nine rebounds. Reserve Earl Watson scored 20 points.
Baron Davis led the Warriors with 28 points, but Golden State’s offense was stymied in the second half behind a combination of improved Seattle defense and fatigue. The Warriors beat New Orleans 101-80 at home on Saturday night for coach Don Nelson’s 1,200th victory, but their pace slowed significantly in the second half against Seattle.
The Warriors have lost five of six.
Golden State was nearly flawless on offense for the first half, building a 72-56 halftime lead. The Warriors shot 62.5 percent, made 8 of 11 3-pointers, had seven players score nine or more points and ran the Sonics all over the floor. About the only misstep was Davis missing Golden State’s only free throw of the half in the final minute.
That comfortable cushion was gone by the end of the third.
Seattle’s interior defense tightened and the Warriors started missing outside jumpers. The Sonics began the second half on a 15-2 run, hitting three 3-pointers. Golden state pushed the lead back to eight, but Watson’s driving layup with 25 seconds left in the third quarter pulled Seattle to 88-87.
Wilkins was fouled to open the fourth and his two free throws gave Seattle its first lead since 9-7. The Sonics never trailed again.
Matt Barnes scored 20 off the bench for Golden State, but Mickael Pietrus and Troy Murphy both scored just two points in the second half as the Warriors shot just 34 percent. Monta Ellis, who scored a career-high 31 when the two teams played last month, was held to 12 points.
Notes
Nelson got the ball from his 1,200th career win on Saturday night signed by Sonics’ executive and broadcaster Lenny Wilkens before Sunday’s game. Wilkens is the NBA career leader in victories with 1,332. Nelson is second. … The 72 first-half points were the most allowed by Seattle this season.
SuperSonics 117, Warriors 115
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| Golden St. | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| Pietrus | 32:10 | 5-8 | 0-0 | 3-6 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
| Murphy | 26:37 | 5-9 | 0-0 | 1-7 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| Biedrins | 30:20 | 5-9 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Ellis | 32:21 | 5-9 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Davis | 40:20 | 10-19 | 6-7 | 2-9 | 13 | 5 | 28 |
| Barnes | 36:33 | 6-16 | 4-5 | 2-6 | 3 | 2 | 20 |
| Foyle | 4:09 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| McLeod | 20:04 | 1-5 | 11-12 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Dunleavy | 9:45 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Roberson | 7:41 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 240:00 | 40-84 | 24-28 | 11-37 | 25 | 24 | 115 |
Percentages: FG .476, FT .857.
3-Point Goals: 11-26, .423 (Barnes 4-10, Pietrus 3-6, Davis 2-3, Murphy 1-2, Ellis 1-3, Dunleavy 0-1, McLeod 0-1).
Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 13 (18 PTS).
Blocked Shots: 6 (Murphy 3, Biedrins, Pietrus, Barnes).
Turnovers: 13 (Ellis 3, Dunleavy 2, Murphy 2, Pietrus 2, Biedrins, Davis, McLeod, Barnes).
Steals: 2 (Ellis 2).
Technical Fouls: Defensive Three Second, 8:01 first; Coach Nelson, 7:37 fourth.
| FG | FT | Reb | |||||
| Seattle | Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | A | PF | PTS |
| RasLewis | 43:41 | 8-17 | 5-6 | 2-8 | 4 | 4 | 25 |
| Wilcox | 30:15 | 4-6 | 2-2 | 2-8 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| Collison | 31:15 | 1-2 | 4-4 | 1-8 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Wilkins | 41:44 | 8-14 | 6-7 | 5-9 | 2 | 1 | 22 |
| Ridnour | 35:02 | 9-17 | 5-7 | 0-3 | 9 | 4 | 26 |
| Gelabale | 10:39 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Watson | 32:58 | 7-19 | 6-7 | 1-3 | 5 | 2 | 20 |
| Petro | 11:26 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Wilks | 3:00 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals | 240:00 | 41-85 | 28-33 | 12-43 | 23 | 24 | 117 |
Percentages: FG .482, FT .848. 3-Point Goals: 7-21, .333 (Ras.Lewis 4-10, Ridnour 3-5, Wilkins 0-1, Watson 0-5).
Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 12 (13 PTS). Blocked Shots: 1 (Collison). Turnovers: 11 (Ridnour 3, Wilkins 3, Collison 2, Ras.Lewis, Watson, Wilcox). Steals: 7 (Ras.Lewis 4, Collison, Petro, Watson). Technical Fouls: Defensive Three Second, 7:54 second.
| Golden State | 38 | 34 | 16 | 27—115 |
| Seattle | 25 | 31 | 31 | 30—117 |
A—16,138 (17,072). T—2:18.