The Associated Press
Portland's Shawn Kemp (40) works against the Sonics' Predrag Drobnjak during the first half on Saturday in Portland.

Payton helps Sonics pull away from Portland

Seattle pushes toward playoff spot

LANDON HALL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND -- While the Portland Trail Blazers talk of fatigue as the season winds down, the Seattle SuperSonics keep forging ahead and grinding out victories.

Brent Barry scored 22 points and Gary Payton drove for the go-ahead layup with 2:11 left as the Sonics defeated Portland 92-87 Saturday night.

"This is when we're supposed to click, when it's almost time for the playoffs," said Payton, who had 18 points. "We're making a statement that we're a playoff-caliber team, and we want everybody to understand that when we get to the playoffs, we're going to be a team to reckon with."

Jerome James added 10 rebounds and made a key defensive play late for the Sonics, who have won four straight and have defeated two of the Western Conference's better teams on successive nights. They beat San Antonio in Seattle on Friday.

The Sonics are in the seventh spot in the Western Conference, but they've crept within 1 1/2 games of the Blazers, who have gone just 6-5 since their 12-game winning streak.

"I'm very happy that these guys are playing hard; they're playing together," said Seattle coach Nate McMillan, whose team has been hit hard by injuries. "They're not coming out and feeling sorry for themselves because we're missing people. Everybody we seem to put out on the floor is giving an honest effort."

"It's the time of the year where everybody's kind of tired, but we've got to start playing better," said Derek Anderson, who led Portland with 24 points.

"We can't lose our position, we can't lose our aggressiveness."

Dale Davis had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Shawn Kemp added 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Blazers, who played without Rasheed Wallace for the third time in four games because of his sore back. The Blazers have lost all three games.

With the score tied at 87, Payton drove the lane and got the shot to bounce off the glass. The Blazers got the ball to Kemp in the post, but James stripped it from him, and Brent Barry wound up with the ball with 15.4 seconds left.

Shammond Williams hit two free throws with 11.5 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Sonics 92, Trail Blazers 87

- Record: 43-31.

- Tuesday: Seattle at Houston, 5:30 p.m. (KONG).

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