WASHINGTON - Most things considered, the Washington Wizards didn't play such a bad game against the Seattle SuperSonics last night, hitting 51 percent of their shots, forcing 13 turnovers and holding Gary Payton to a 6-of-18 shooting night.
But when the entire picture is examined, namely the part where the SuperSonics hit 24 of 36 shots over a two-quarter span, Washington's 101-95 loss makes a bit more sense.
Seattle shot an amazing 67 percent for the second and third quarters combined - 73 percent in the third alone when the SuperSonics missed only four of 15 shots.
Seattle forward Rashard Lewis scored a career-high 37 points, on 16-for-19 shooting, with seven rebounds as well.
"The basket felt wide-open to me. I was feeling my jump shot and had a nice flow going," said Lewis, who signed a seven-year, $65 million contract extension in the offseason. "After the first half, you know your shot is falling and you have everything going for you. Everything was feeling good to me [last night]."
Said Washington coach Doug Collins: "I told you guys coming in that they are the best shooting team in the NBA. This is one of those games where it's hard to play big guys. They stretch you out and Rashard Lewis, at 6-10, plays like a guard, yet he gives you that post-up matchup and if you try to help, they screen you on the perimeter. They're tough."
The Wizards (4-4) saw a three-game win streak end, even as Michael Jordan connected for a season-high 27 points, with 12 points coming in the fourth period as he helped Washington trim an 11-point deficit to one in the final three minutes.
"For the effort, you have to give us a good hand," said Jordan, who had eight of Washington's last nine points in the game. "But obviously we put ourselves in a deep hole and we had a tough time matching up. This team is very difficult to play without seeing them. You have to see them a few times before you get a good handle on what they do."
After Jerry Stackhouse, who had 13 points in his worst game of the season, missed two free throws that would have given the Wizards the lead with 2:26 to go, Lewis hit a pair of shots, wrapped around a Jordan jumper, to put Seattle back ahead by three.
"I can't ask for a better situation than to be on the free-throw line with a chance to go up," said Stackhouse, who shot 6-for-19. "It just didn't happen. I can't say anything other than that. It was a tough night at the office."
Larry Hughes, who had 19 points, hit one of two free throws, then Payton, who had 14 points for Seattle (6-2), dished out the most important of his 16 assists, finding Predrag Drobnjak for a 19-footer that effectively ended the contest.
"The difference is Gary Payton," said Collins. "That guy will pick you apart. He had 16 assists. And how about him, up two, trusting Drobnjak with that shot? That says a lot that Gary Payton, perennial All-Pro, one of the greatest point guards ever, drives in there, sees him and trusts him to hit that shot."
Jordan would hit a basket with 26 seconds to go, but Brent Barry, whose brother, Jon, hit a three-pointer at the buzzer in a game last year to power Detroit over Washington, nailed a three with rookie Jared Jeffries flying at him and 8.2 seconds to go to seal the deal.
"From what I am hearing about the three, my coach is saying it was a bad shot," said Barry, who had 17 points. "I think there was a one-second difference in the shot clock, and I probably could have held the ball and got a foul and went to the free-throw line."
"I ran at him [Barry] so hard," said Jeffries. "I was trying to make him rush and think that I was going to run over him. I moved at the last second. He had a tough shot, but he had been hitting shots the whole game. A big-time player does that."
NOTES: Center Jerome James (foot) and guard Kenny Anderson (back spasms) did not dress for the Sonics. James will have his foot X-rayed today. ... Collins remained one short of his 300th career victory.
SuperSonics 101, Wizards 95
FGFTReb
SEATTLEMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS
Lewis4416-192-30-73237
Radmanovic312-52-34-8136
Drobnjak256-100-00-30112
Barry427-120-01-46217
Payton426-182-31-416314
Mason324-112-41-52110
Booth40-02-20-0012
Sesay111-20-02-3022
Evans90-11-22-3021
Totals24042-7811-1711-372817101
Percentages: FG .538, FT .647. 3-point goals: 6-13, .462 (Lewis 3-4, Barry 3-5, Radmanovic 0-1, Payton 0-3). Team rebounds: 9. Blocked Shots: 2 (Mason, Evans). Turnovers: 13 (Radmanovic 3, Lewis 2, Barry 2, Mason 2, Payton, Drobnjak, Sesay, Evans). Steals: 8 (Payton 2, Barry 2, Radmanovic 2, Lewis, Mason). Technical fouls: Coach McMillan, 4:47 first; Defensive Three Second, 11:07 second. FGFTReb
WASHINGTONMinM-AM-AO-TAPFPTS
Russell404-70-01-85510
Brown202-61-22-5125
Haywood102-30-00-0004
Stackhouse446-191-30-18213
Hughes429-141-22-45319
Jordan3113-221-21-64127
Jeffries325-84-53-81114
Lue151-21-10-0113
Laettner60-10-01-2110
Totals24042-829-1510-34261695
Percentages: FG .512, FT .600. 3-point goals: 2-9, .222 (Russell 2-5, Lue 0-1, Stackhouse 0-3). Team rebounds: 8. Blocked shots: 4 (Brown, Haywood, Jordan, Stackhouse). Turnovers: 13 (Jordan 4, Hughes 2, Russell 2, Stackhouse 2, Brown, Haywood, Jeffries). Steals: 6 (Hughes 4, Jordan, Russell). Technical fouls: None. Seattle25332419-101
Washington28241924-95
A: 20,173 (20,674). T: 2:05. Officials: Steve Javie, Hue Hollins, Courtney Kirkland.