Gary Payton and the Seattle SuperSonics - with the possible exception of Shawn Kemp - sent a message to the Utah Jazz and the rest of the West on Sunday.
They're not ready to concede conference supremacy just yet.Payton scored nine of his 28 points in overtime, including a corner jumper with three-tenths of a second left that gave Seattle an 89-87 victory over Utah and prevented the Sonics from being swept in the season series.
"Having been beaten by them three times, we were coming in to make a statement," Payton said. "We had to let them know: If we do play you in the playoffs, it's not going to be as easy as you think."
In a hard-fought game with playoff-type atmosphere, Payton took over in the extra period to help Seattle overcome one of the worst games of Kemp's career.
Kemp scored just three points on 1-for-8 shooting in 35 minutes and fouled out early in overtime. But Payton had three field goals and three foul shots in the extra period to help Seattle win the last of four matchups between the teams this season.
Utah was looking to move two full games ahead of the Sonics in the Western Conference standings, but instead had its seven-game overall and 13-game home winning streaks snapped.
Detlef Schrempf scored 20 points and Sam Perkins had 15 for Seattle, which extended its winning streak to six games on the first stop of a five-game road trip.
"After the All-Star break we decided we were tired of playing mediocre basketball, that it was time to get back to playing the special basketball we're capable of playing," coach George Karl said.
They did so Sunday by shutting down all but one of Utah's offensive weapons.
Karl Malone led Utah with 32 points, but Greg Ostertag with 11 points was the only other Jazz player to score in double figures.
Payton gave Seattle an 85-81 lead with 2:11 left in overtime, but Malone scored the next four points to tie it with 46 seconds left.
Payton then drove around John Stockton and drew a foul, and with the fans chanting "Ga-ry, Ga-ry" he calmly made both free throws. Antoine Carr was fouled on the other end and made both shots to tie the game with 20.8 seconds left.
Seattle then brought the ball downcourt, and Hersey Hawkins drew a double-team as he drove the lane with the clock ticking down. He spotted Payton open along the right baseline, and Payton - left wide open after Stockton fell - swished the shot.
Utah was unable to get off a clean attempt in the final three-tenths of a second.
"It's a tough loss, a tough loss to swallow," Malone said. "If you rate this game as far as the Jazz are concerned, it was not one of our better games.
It was just the third home loss of the season for the Jazz and dropped them into a tie with Seattle for the best record in the Western Conference.
"A lot of things are happening, but we're right there again," Payton said. "All the records are pretty much the same right now and the Lakers lost today. So we're back in first place and feeling pretty good."
Knicks 127, Lakers 121 (2OT)
At Inglewood, Calif., Patrick Ewing scored 10 of his season-high 34 points in the second overtime period and also had a season-high 25 rebounds for New York.
Ewing, who also blocked five shots, was coming off one of his most unproductive games of the year, a seven-point, nine-rebound effort in an 84-64 loss at Seattle on Friday night.
Elden Campbell, who has moved from forward to center to fill in for the injured Shaquille O'Neal, scored a career-high 40 points for the Lakers. But he had a potential game-winning layup roll off the rim in the closing seconds of the first overtime.
Ewing had a three-point play that put the Knicks on top 122-121 and trigger a game-closing 8-0 run by New York.
Cavaliers 91, Grizzlies 84
At Vancouver, British Columbia, Bobby Phills scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half as the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 10-point deficit to beat Vancouver.
Opening the fourth quarter with a 17-4 run, the Cavaliers went on to beat the Grizzlies for the second time this season and go 4-0 in all-time meetings.
Vancouver failed to get a field goal in the first 41/2 minutes of the fourth quarter. Bryant Reeves had 26 points as the Grizzlies lost their league-worst 47th game.
Clippers 99, Bucks 86
At Milwaukee, Lamond Murray and Malik Sealy both scored 16 points and combined to key a 12-point fourth quarter run that lifted the Los Angeles Clippers over Milwaukee.
The Clippers, led by Darrick Martin with 19 points, snapped a two-game losing streak and a seven-game road skid.
The Bucks, who lost their second straight and are now 21/2 games off the pace for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, were led by Glenn Robinson with 25 points and Vin Baker with 23.
Rockets 95, Spurs 85
At Houston, Hakeem Olajuwon scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Houston Rockets held off a late San Antonio comeback try.
A 21-7 run helped Houston take a 52-41 halftime lead, and the Rockets increased it to 71-56 with 2:18 left in the third quarter.
Dominique Wilkins scored 10 of his 28 points during the final seven minutes for the Spurs. Charles Barkley added 19 points for the Rockets.
Pistons 85, Bullets 79
At Landover, Md., Terry Mills had 14 points and 14 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons weathered a comeback bid by the Washington Bullets to win their sixth in a row.
Aaron McKie had 16 points and Joe Dumars 14 for the Pistons, whose winning streak matches their season high. Detroit won all four games against the Bullets this season, its first sweep of Washington since the 1992-93 season.
Chris Webber, returning from a five-game absence with back spasms, scored 19 and Rod Strickland also had 19 for the Bullets, who have lost three straight and nine of 11.
Nets 109, Celtics 93
At East Rutherford, N.J., Kendall Gill had 24 points and Sam Cassell 20 as the New Jersey Nets handed the Boston Celtics their 10th straight loss.
The losing streak ties the second-longest in a season for the Celtics and is three shy of the team record set in 1994. The Celtics also had a 10-game slide in 1949.
The win was the first for New Jersey since its nine-player trade with Dallas on Monday, a deal that brought Cassell to the Nets.
Jimmy Jackson, another of the new Nets, added 19 points. Rookie Kerry Kittles had 18 in his first game off the bench since early in the season and Xavier McDaniel added a season-high 15.
Heat 95, Nuggets 86
At Miami, Isaac Austin led a balanced attack with 15 points filling in for an injured Alonzo Mourning, and the Miami Heat beat the Denver Nuggets.
The game was Miami's first since Mourning tore a tendon in his right foot Friday. The All-Star center is expected to be sidelined approximately six weeks.
LaPhonso Ellis led Denver with 29 points. He missed seven of his first eight shots but finished 11-for-24.
With 27 games remaining, the Heat (42-13) matched the team record for victories set in 1994 and tied last year. Miami, which has won 12 of its past 13 games, retained a two-game lead over second-place New York in the Atlantic Division.