Ugly Mood Over Ugly Sonic Win

Though the Seattle SuperSonics won their seventh consecutive game Sunday night, there were lots of long faces in their locker room after they had beaten the Vancouver Grizzlies, 91-81, at Seattle.

“We didn’t take advantage of their weaknesses, but fortunately we got a couple of spurts and held on,” Sonic guard Hersey Hawkins said. “If we play like this against the good teams, we’re going to get our butts handed to us.”

Although they shot only 40% from the field, the Sonics played well without the ball, using their pressure defense to force 26 Grizzlies turnovers, which resulted in 31 Seattle points.

Gary Payton led the Sonics with 21 points.

The Grizzlies, ranked 28th in NBA scoring, had their second-lowest scoring output of the season in losing for the ninth time in 10 games.

But it was a good night for Vancouver rookie forward Roy Rogers, who had season highs of 18 points and nine rebounds.

Portland 88, Indiana 83--Arvydas Sabonis scored 18 points and Cliff Robinson made four free throws in the final 17 seconds to enable the Trail Blazers to hold off the Pacers at Indianapolis.

“It seems most nights leads aren’t safe,” Portland coach P.J. Carlisimo said. “But you can win a close game on the road by making your free throws.”

Reggie Miller led the Pacers with 30 points. Dale Davis had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana.

Golden State 102, San Antonio 92--Latrell Sprewell scored 10 points in an 18-0 third-quarter burst at San Antonio that sent the Warriors on their way to victory and the Spurs on their way to their fifth loss in seven games.

Sprewell finished with 20 points. Teammate B.J. Armstrong added 24.

The Spurs set a franchise record by taking 10 three-point shots in the first quarter. They made two.