SuperSonics, Payton Never Let the Jazz Get Into Their Rhythm

They had played Tuesday night in San Antonio and Thursday night in Salt Lake City, emotional games both, then the tired bunch came here for a 36-hour turnaround. Saturday afternoon, several members of the Utah Jazz finally got some much-needed rest.

Unfortunately, it came during Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

Not merely rundown anymore, the Jazz got run over by the Seattle SuperSonics, 102-72, before 17,072 at KeyArena as Shawn Kemp had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Gary Payton dominated John Stockton.

It was Utah’s worst playoff loss in franchise history.

“I really don’t know what to say,” Seattle Coach George Karl said, sounding almost apologetic. “It was a shocking game to me. I didn’t think that would happen. It’s very tough to beat a team like Utah by that much.”

Unless . . .

A team like the SuperSonics shoots 54.7% overall and 50%--10 of 20--on three-point shots.

Or a team like Utah has a center like Felton Spencer, who plays 17 minutes because he gets only three rebounds, all three of which came in the third quarter, after garbage time had arrived.

Or a team like Seattle does such a great defensive job on Stockton, holding him to seven assists and four points on two-of-10 shooting in 32 minutes.

Payton was just named the league’s defensive player of the year, an award that should have credibility since voting was done by the head coaches and not the media, but this was an impressive showing even by his standards. The shots Stockton did get were often off-balance or to beat the 24-second clock, and he was consistently denied penetration, taking away a valuable Utah weapon.

Sometimes Stockton never even got into position to drive and dish. The SuperSonics often double-teamed just after he crossed halfcourt, a trap that forced the ball out of Stockton’s hands and hindered the Jazz.

“It was just one of those days,” Payton said. “He wasn’t clicking. We didn’t do anything different. We didn’t do anything special.”

Probably only seemed that way.

“It looked like there were 10 guys guarding us,” Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan said.

And then there was that stretch when it looked as if there were 10 guys rebounding against them. It came late in the first half, the same time the SuperSonics put the game away.

They led, 47-39, when Utah started to crumble, or run out of gas. Seattle’s Detlef Schrempf made his first free throw, then missed the second, but Kemp grabbed the rebound. Kemp was hammered by Antoine Carr as he went up, but made the shot and went to the line.

He missed--as if it mattered.

This time, Ervin Johnson got the offensive board, tipping Kemp’s shot back in and finishing what had become a five-point possession. Five points in five seconds that became a 52-39 cushion and the last anyone saw of the Jazz.

“I told the guys they looked like robins in the nest with their mouths open, waiting for balls to drop in them,” Sloan said.

Added Stockton: “I don’t know if we even had time to be frustrated. It just happened.”

At halftime, the SuperSonics’ rebounding edge was 24-8. It got closer from there--Seattle finished with a 39-34 advantage on the boards--but the game never did, with the lead reaching 24 points midway through the third quarter and 32 late in the fourth.

Karl Malone (33) and Stockton (32) were the only two Jazz players to play more than 30 minutes, making official what had already been apparent. Most of their teammates took the day off.