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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
SEATTLE (AP) -- Jelani McCoy is earning valuable playing time with the Seattle SuperSonics.
While Gary Payton scored 23 points and won his duel with Jason
Kidd, McCoy hit two key baskets in the final quarter as the Sonics
beat the Phoenix Suns 94-86 on Friday night.
|  | | Gary Payton got the better of Jason Kidd in the first of their two matchups this weekend. Round 2 comes Sunday. |
"He hurt us," Phoenix coach Scott Skiles said of McCoy,
Seattle's second-year center from UCLA.
"Any player wants to go out and be a major part of a game,"
said a smiling McCoy.
Sonics coach Paul Westphal likes McCoy's defense, rebounding and
intensity.
"For those old-timers who remember records, Jelani was playing
like a 45 and the other players were at 33 and a third," Westphal
said.
Payton held Kidd, the Suns' All-Star guard, to eight points. Vin
Baker added 22 points for Seattle, and Rodney Rogers led the Suns with 26 points.
McCoy, who finished with 10 points, scored on a dunk to give
Seattle a 79-76 lead with 5:04 to go just over a minute after he
hit a free throw that put the Sonics ahead for good.
McCoy then drove the key for a basket and made a free throw
after being fouled by 315-pound Oliver Miller to put Sonics on top 82-76 with 4:30 to go.
Then he stared down Miller, prompting the Suns to appeal the
referees to call a taunting foul on McCoy. They didn't.
"It was just a big-man thing," said McCoy, who has played in 30 of the Sonics' 48 games. "They wanted taunting, but I didn't say a word."
McCoy, 22, was a second-round draft choice in 1998 after a
troubled junior season at UCLA. He quit the Bruins after being
suspended.
"I've exceeded at every level I've played," McCoy said. "It's
based on confidence. I've always had confidence in myself."
Payton also had a career-high 13 rebounds and seven assists in
45 minutes in his matchup against Kidd, who played 42 minutes and
had 12 rebounds and six assists.
"Gary had another fantastic game," Westphal said. "It was just another All-Star performance."
Said backcourt mate Brent Barry: "I hope the fans don't take Gary for granted. You're seeing a true superstar in No. 20."
"Gary can do anything he sets his mind to on the floor," Baker said.
Barry and Ruben Patterson each scored 17 points for the Sonics, while Penny Hardaway had 17 for Phoenix.
The Suns didn't play Clifford Robinson in the second half after he was ineffective in the first half. Robinson sprained his right
foot in practice Thursday in Phoenix before the team flew to
Seattle. X-rays before the game showed no broken bones.
"I had to come out of the game because it really bothered me to
move laterally," Robinson said.
After McCoy's three-point play, Hardaway scored after getting an
offensive rebound to cut Seattle's lead to 82-78, but Patterson's
5-foot banker put the Sonics in front 84-78 with 3:41 to go.
In the third quarter, the Sonics stayed in front, but just
barely with Rogers connecting on two free throws with 23.5 seconds
left to cut Seattle's lead to 69-66 going into the final period.
The Sonics took a 17-point lead in the first 6:38, moving to a
23-6 lead on Barry's 3-pointer. But the Suns came back to cut
Seattle's lead to 37-35 on Tom Gugliotta's short jump hook with 7:58 left in the first half.
Barry hit two 3-pointers in the final 5:49 of the second quarter as the Sonics took a 54-45 lead at halftime.
Game notes
The Sonics bounced back after losing 88-81 to the Chicago
Bulls, the team with the worst record in the NBA, Wednesday night
at home. The Sonics had dropped two straight at the Key Arena. ...
The Sonics beat the Suns for the second straight time after losing
six in a row to Phoenix. They also defeated Phoenix 101-94 Jan. 11
at the Key Arena. ... Robinson, who was averaging 25.4 points in
his previous 10 games, was held to four points on 2-for-6 shooting.
He has missed 16 games in his 11-year NBA career. ... Payton has
3,000 career rebounds.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Phoenix Clubhouse
Seattle Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 100
New Jersey 95
Portland 97
Atlanta 90
Miami 99
Washington 92
Detroit 105
Cleveland 96
Indiana 104
Sacramento 94
Minnesota 102
Houston 85
Vancouver 101
Chicago 76
Golden State 103
Denver 101
LA Lakers 113
Utah 67
Seattle 94
Phoenix 86
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