Baker Delivers Big Shot as Seattle Beats Chicago

Vin Baker made a 17-foot baseline jump shot over 7-foot Luc Longley with three seconds left to give the Seattle SuperSonics a 91-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls Tuesday night at Seattle.

“That has to be the biggest shot of my life,” said Baker, who came to the Seattle from Milwaukee in September as part of the three-way trade for Shawn Kemp. “To get the ball and make a shot in that situation is a big confidence booster for me.”

Gary Payton led the SuperSonics with 22 and Baker added 19.

“Any time you beat a team that has the greatest basketball player of all time, it’s a big win,” Payton said.

Toni Kukoc had a season-high 30 points and Michael Jordan scored 26 for Chicago. Gary Payton made two free throws with 40 seconds left to pull Seattle to 90-89. Randy Brown of the Bulls then missed a driving layup as the 24-second shot clock expired.

Seattle then came down and worked the ball to Baker for the game-winner over Longley’s outstretched arm.

Chicago had a chance to win the game, but Baker deflected Kukoc’s desperation 20-footer at the buzzer.

San Antonio 102, Dallas 91--A game against the Mavericks was what the Spurs needed to get their offense in gear.

David Robinson had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Sean Elliott added 19 points at Dallas, as San Antonio rebounded from successive losses to hand the Mavericks their 10th consecutive defeat.

“We’d lost two straight so we were determined to play well at the start of this game,” said Robinson, who was eight for 12 from the field with his ninth double-double of the season. “We had a good fire going and made some shots at the start.”

The Spurs, who scored 74 points in each of the losses at Seattle and Utah, connected on 16 consecutive field-goal attempts in the first quarter, missing only four of their first 23 overall. But they lapsed into a comfort zone in the second half as the Mavericks came back from a 26-point third quarter deficit to make a game of it.

“Coaches worry more when they’re up by 20 than they do in a tight game,” Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said.

Charlotte 90, Detroit 85--The Hornets’ run of 364 consecutive home sellouts is over, although it’s no fault of the players who are off to the best start in franchise history.

“We’re definitely going to take care of our end of the bargain,” Glen Rice said.

Rice had 21 points to help Charlotte improve its best start to 9-3. The Hornets, winning their fifth consecutive game and their sixth consecutive at home, also got 17 points from Matt Geiger and 15 rebounds from Anthony Mason.

Even with the team’s recent success, the game drew a crowd of 22,617 to the 24,042-seat facility, ending a run of consecutive sellouts that began in December 1988. It was the second-longest active streak in the NBA behind Chicago’s 465.

New Jersey 101, Golden State 87--Kerry Kittles and Sam Cassell scored 18 points apiece as the Nets kept the Warriors winless at home.

Kendall Gill added 16, Chris Gatling 14 and Jayson Williams 12 for the Nets, who swept the season series with Golden State and are 8-4, the best record to start a season in franchise history.

Donyell Marshall had a season-high 25 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for the Warriors, who have lost 11 of their 12 games, including all four at home.

Sacramento 97, Denver 93--Corliss Williamson scored four of his 24 points in the final nine seconds to lead the Kings against over the winless Nuggets at Sacramento.

The Nuggets, who overcame a 16-point deficit in the third quarter, lost their 12th consecutive game. Sacramento won for the fourth time in its last five games.