Payton Powers Seattle

The game’s first 46 minutes were merely an opening act for Gary Payton’s show-stopping performance on Thursday.

Payton scored seven consecutive points and forced an important turnover in the final 1:57 as the Seattle SuperSonics won their seventh consecutive game and held off the Milwaukee Bucks for a 104-96 victory at Milwaukee.

Former Milwaukee star Vin Baker led the SuperSonics with 31 points, but he faded in the second half. Payton added 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but the star point guard only came to life when the Bucks battled back to tie the score, 92-92.

“They made it real hairy there at the end, but it gave Gary a chance to show off a little bit,” Seattle Coach Paul Westphal said. “What a clutch exhibition by Gary. It was neat to see him just say, ‘OK, we’re going to win this game.’ ”

Baker carried the Sonics through the first half with 26 points, but Payton made all the big plays late to seal Seattle’s sixth straight road win.

“I wasn’t playing well in the first three quarters, but I just had to keep confidence in my shot and try harder on defense,” Payton said.

George Karl lost to Seattle for the first time since being fired by the team in 1998. Karl had a 384-150 record in Seattle from 1992-98 before he was replaced by Westphal.

“This is a different team than the one I coached,” Karl said. “The only guys left are Gary and Vin, and they were the guys that killed us tonight. I don’t know what that says about how they feel about me.”

New Jersey 122, Detroit 120--Stephon Marbury had 34 points and 15 assists and Jamie Feick grabbed a career-high 25 rebounds as the Nets blew a 17-point lead before defeating the Pistons at East Rutherford, N.J.

Keith Van Horn added 28 points before fouling out late and Scott Burrell hit a go-ahead drive across the lane with 48.4 seconds to play as the Nets ended a three-game losing streak and handed the Pistons their second straight loss.

Charlotte 109, Philadelphia 100--Derrick Coleman and Eddie Jones each scored 23 points as the Hornets rallied in the third quarter to beat the 76ers at Charlotte, N.C.

The Hornets won their third straight since losing seven in a row, and stopped the 76ers’ winning streak at four.

Houston 122, Denver 115--Shandon Anderson had 26 points and 13 rebounds as the host Rockets won their season-high fifth straight.

The Rockets offset Antonio McDyess’ season-high 40 points, six short of his career high.

Sacramento 111, Orlando 103--Playing without Chris Webber, who sat out with a strained neck, the Kings received 17 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks from Vlade Divac as they defeated the Magic at Sacramento for their seventh consecutive victory.

Utah 94, Vancouver 89--Karl Malone scored 18 of his 32 points in the third quarter as the Jazz improved to 17-0 all-time against the Grizzlies with a victory at Vancouver, Canada.