Gary Payton had 31 points and a season-high seven steals Saturday night as the Seattle SuperSonics held the Orlando Magic to a season low, 124-84.

Payton scored 24 of his points in the first half as the Sonics took a 61-34 halftime lead. Kendall Gill scored 23 of his season-high 25 points in the second half for the Sonics, who won their ninth straight home game.The game was the most onesided contest ever in the series between the two teams. Orlando won by 31 points, 124-93, on Feb. 18, 1994 in Orlando.

Shaquille O'Neal, the league's leading scorer, had 15 points after a 40-point effort Friday night at Golden State, a game in which the Magic had to come from behind to win in overtime.

The Sonics' biggest lead was 117-75 with 2:06 left in the game on Dontonio Wingfield's layup. The Magic's previous lowest scoring game this season was 90 on Dec. 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Anfernee Hardaway, Orlando's point guard, was limited to only 17 minutes because of a sore left hamstring. Starting forward Donald Royal bruised his right knee at the end of the first half and did not return.

O'Neal battled double- and triple-teaming defenses and hit only 6-of-15 from the field to go along with his five rebounds.

Six Sonics scored in double figures. Gill was 4-for-4 from the field in the fourth quarter when he scored 13 points.

The Sonics outrebounded the Magic 52-32, led by Shawn Kemp's 14 rebounds.

Payton appeared headed towards a triple double but did not play in the fourth quarter because the Sonics were leading so big.

With Payton dominating play at both ends of the court, adding six steals to his 24 points, the Sonics held the Magic to a season-low 34 first-half points and took a 61-34 advantage at halftime.

Payton was 9-for-10 from the field, including a 3-point basket with 1.2 seconds left in the half.

The Magic still has the league's best record at 17-5.

Celtics 112, Rockets 109

At Houston, Dominique Wilkins scored 43 points, including five of six 3-pointers, as the Boston Celtics downed Houston.

Dee Brown's 3-pointer with 35 seconds left, one of 11 by the Celtics, gave Boston a 108-105 lead. Brown, who finished with 16 points, then added three free throws and Wilkins sank another with 5.4 seconds left.

Kenny Smith, trying to tie the game for the fifth time in the final period, missed a 3-pointer for Houston as time ran out.

It was the first win in three games for Boston and just their third victory in the last 10 outings. The Rockets have lost eight of 12 after opening the season with nine straight victories.

Mavericks 106, Clippers 87

At Anaheim, Calif., Jim Jackson scored 16 of his 31 points in the third quarter and Jamal Mashburn added 28 as the Dallas Mavericks ended their 11-game losing streak against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Roy Tarpley, who received a one-game suspension from Dallas coach Dick Motta after their argument on the bench last Tuesday night, returned to the lineup and had 21 points and a season-high 16 rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench.

Tarpley entered the game with 8:16 left in the first quarter, made his first four shots and grabbed four rebounds in his first seven minutes on the court as the Mavericks pulled ahead 31-23 by the end of the period. He capped his longest outing of the season with 6 points in the final seven minutes.

Pistons 97, 76ers 92

At Philadelphia, Terry Mills scored 32 points and Joe Dumars added 22, including two crucial free throws with 11 seconds remaining, as the Detroit Pistons broke a five-game losing streak with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Both teams put on a 3-point shooting display as Philadelphia connected on 10 of 23 and Detroit hit 8 of 14.

Dana Barros led Philadelphia with 23 points and was 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

Grant Hill added 16 points for the Pistons, while Burton had 16 points for the 76ers.

Timberwolves 96, Bullets 87

At Landover, Md., Doug West tied his season best with a game-high 25 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat Washington, extending the Bullets' losing streak to five games.

Isaiah Rider added 22 points as the Timberwolves won their second straight game for only the second time this season.

Christian Laettner added 19 points for Minnesota, which had lost four of five games. The Timberwolves have won back-to-back games twice this month.

Chris Webber had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bullets, who are 0-9 when held under 100 points.

Hornets 111, Nuggets 92

At Charlotte, N.C., Hersey Hawkins scored a season-high 28 points to lead all Charlotte's starters in double figures as the Hornets beat the Denver Nuggets.

Hawkins, limited to 2 points on 1-of-7 shooting in Friday night's loss to Indiana, hit on 12 of 18 shots against Denver.

The Hornets dressed just nine players because of injuries, but the starters made up for only 10 points from the bench. Alonzo Mourning scored 21 points, while Muggsy Bogues had 19 and Larry Johnson 17.

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf led the Nuggets with 15.

Heat 96, Hawks 85

At Miami, Kevin Willis had 24 points and 11 rebounds in his first game against his former team, the Atlanta Hawks.

Willis, traded by the Hawks for Steve Smith and Grant Long on Nov. 7, spent the first nine years of his NBA career in Atlanta.

Smith and Long combined for 21 points for the Hawks, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Kevin Gamble added 18 points for Miami.

Spurs 116, Lakers 102

At San Antonio, Dennis Rodman, playing in his third game since his latest suspension, scored 14 points and had a game-high 19 rebounds, helping the San Antonio Spurs to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Spurs scored the final 7 points to pull away at the end.

San Antonio's David Robinson led all scorers with 32 points and had 17 rebounds. Sean Elliott added 23 points, Vinnie Del Negro 19 and Avery Johnson 15 as the Spurs won their fourth straight game.

Nick Van Exel led the Lakers with 19 points. Elden Campbell added 17. Vlade Divac and Sedale Threatt had 16 each and Eddie Jones had 15.

Suns 109, Kings 98

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At Phoenix, Charles Barkley hit season highs with 27 points and 14 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns beat the Sacramento Kings for their franchise record 22nd consecutive home victory.

Danny Manning added 22 for the Suns, who have won seven straight overall.

The Kings lost their 17th straight in Phoenix and have dropped 27 of their last 31 meetings with the Suns.

Walt Williams and Mitch Richmond each had 20 to lead Sacramento, while Spud Webb had 16.

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