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Sonics drubbed

Sacramento's Kenny Thomas uses his elbow to thwart a drive by Seattle Chris Wilcox. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Tim Booth Associated Press
Sacramento's Kenny Thomas uses his elbow to thwart a drive by Seattle Chris Wilcox. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

SEATTLE – The Sacramento Kings lost a former All-Star and, instead of sulking, they showed off their depth.

Seattle got a former All-Star back, but even Rashard Lewis’ return couldn’t cure the SuperSonics’ struggles.

Kevin Martin scored 26 points, 14 coming during a big second quarter that led the Kings to a 114-93 win over the Sonics on Saturday night. It was Sacramento’s season-high fifth straight win, coming a few hours after learning they’ll be without center Brad Miller until after the All-Star break.

The news about Miller was received as a challenge by the Kings, who built a big lead and unlike recent outings during their win streak, never let Seattle within striking distance.

“We have guys that can come in and fill in and have been in the league and can do damage,” Sacramento’s Ron Artest said. “That’s a good thing about our team.”

Artest finished with 20 points, scoring 13 in the first quarter and rested much of the second half as the Kings coasted. Francisco Garcia also led a key bench contribution with a season-high 17 points as Sacramento’s reserves outscored Seattle’s 39-13, helping to make up for the absence of Miller.

The 7-footer won’t return until at least Feb. 20, resting the partially torn fascia in his left foot. Miller had been bothered by the injury lately and underwent an MRI in Sacramento on Friday. He participated in the Kings’ shootaround Saturday morning, but after talking with trainers, decided to rest the foot until after the break.

He wasn’t needed against the struggling Sonics, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Ray Allen led Seattle with 29 points, but got little help, even with the return of Lewis to the lineup.

Lewis missed the previous 22 games with an injured tendon in his right shooting hand and returned ahead of schedule. He made just 2 of 11 shots and finished with 14 points.

“Rashard probably showed the signs of being out as long as he has, but I had to leave him out on the court to get experience out on the floor,” Seattle coach Bob Hill said.

Martin and Garcia combined to score 23 of Sacramento’s first 27 points in the second quarter. The Kings scored 12 straight to start the quarter, and outscored Seattle 30-11 over the first 9:14, taking their biggest lead at 57-34 on Artest’s 3-pointer.

The lead briefly reached 24 early in the third quarter, before Seattle made its only challenge of the half behind Allen and Nick Collison to close within 77-64.