Wilkins steps up

SEATTLE – Damien Wilkins came off the bench to score a career-high 26 points in place of the injured Rashard Lewis, leading the Seattle SuperSonics over the Atlanta Hawks 99-91 on Friday night.

Wilkins is considered one of Seattle’s top defenders, but it was his offense that was needed after Lewis went out in the first half with an injury to his right quadriceps. Wilkins shot 7 for 12, made 12 of 13 free throws and scored 13 of Seattle’s final 16 points, helping the Sonics snap a four-game losing streak.

Ray Allen scored 22 for Seattle and Nick Collison had 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.

Seattle controlled the backboards, outrebounding Atlanta 49-37, including 13 from center Robert Swift. Seattle held a 25-8 advantage in second-chance points.

Al Harrington led Atlanta with 26 points, while Zaza Pachulia and Josh Childress each scored 17. The Hawks had won four of five, but their struggles on the road continued. Atlanta fell to 0-11 on the road against the Western Conference and 4-19 overall.

Wilkins scored 11 straight points midway through the fourth quarter to give Seattle the lead for good. Tied at 83, Wilkins made back-to-back jumpers, causing Atlanta to call timeout.

Harrington made a 3-pointer for Atlanta, but Wilkins made two free throws and then converted a difficult reverse layup and was fouled. The three-point play put Seattle up 92-86 with 2:38 left. He added two more free throws as Wilkins outscored the Hawks 11-3 during the stretch.

Another 3-pointer by Harrington got Atlanta to 94-89, but Wilkins assisted on Luke Ridnour’s jumper with 46 seconds left to seal the win.

Atlanta scored just eight points in the final 8 minutes.

It was the first time Seattle has held a team to less than 100 points since losing to the Los Angeles Clippers 98-72 on Jan. 14.

Seattle went the last three quarters without Lewis, its second leading scorer. Lewis played the entire first quarter, but shot 1 for 5 and had just two points.

Lewis is averaging 21.9 points this season. He has scored in double figures in all but two games this season, and has played at least 20 minutes in every game, except when he played just 2 minutes on Nov. 9 at Cleveland after an injury.

Notes

After the game, Lewis said he took a knee to the thigh late in the first quarter and that he would consider himself doubtful for Sunday’s game against Denver. … Atlanta rookie forward Marvin Williams tracked down 40 tickets for Friday’s game. The Bremerton, Wash. native said “I’m excited to be back, definitely.” Williams finished with four points.

Sonics 99, Hawks 91

Percentages: FG .427, FT .762. 3-Point Goals: 5-18, .278 (Harrington 3-6, Stoudamire 2-7, M.Williams 0-1, Johnson 0-4). Team Rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: 15 (16 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Pachulia 2, M.Williams 2, J.Smith). Turnovers: 15 (Childress 6, Batista 2, Johnson 2, Pachulia 2, J.Smith, Stoudamire, M.Williams). Steals: 9 (Johnson 2, Pachulia 2, Childress, Harrington, J.Smith, Stoudamire, M.Williams). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .415, FT .900. 3-Point Goals: 4-18, .222 (Allen 4-10, Murray 0-1, Ridnour 0-1, D.Wilkins 0-1, Lewis 0-2, Radmanovic 0-3). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 14 (10 PTS). Blocked Shots: 8 (Swift 3, Allen 2, Radmanovic, Collison, Petro). Turnovers: 13 (Collison 3, Ridnour 3, Lewis 2, Swift 2, Murray, D.Wilkins, Petro). Steals: 9 (Ridnour 3, D.Wilkins 3, Allen, Collison, Swift). Technical Fouls: Defensive Three Second, 3:22 third.

A—16,231 (17,072). T—2:16.