RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

CHICAGO (AP) _ If the Seattle SuperSonics had this much trouble with Chicago, imagine what would have happened if the Bulls weren't missing half their roster.

Vin Baker scored 25 points and Gary Payton added 22, including seven during Seattle's decisive stretch, as the Sonics held off the injury-ravaged Bulls 93-84 on Monday night.

Corey Benjamin led five Bulls in double figures with a career-high 19 points. Ron Artest, Elton Brand and Kornel David all had 14 apiece, and Rusty LaRue, signed before the game to bolster Chicago's backcourt, scored 13 _ two shy of his career high.

Despite six players in street clothes, the Bulls made a game of it, taking a 74-73 lead on Brand's free throws with 11:31 left to play. But they ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, shooting just 2-of-18 in the last 12 period.

Former Bull Horace Grant sparked a 18-3 run with a jumper, and Payton took care of the rest. He hit a runner in the lane, a reverse layup and a 3-pointer from the left wing. Patterson finished up the spurt with a layup to make it 91-77 with 2:07 left.

Patterson scored 16 for the Sonics and former Bull Brent Barry, heckled by fans every time he touched the ball, added 13.

That the Bulls were even in the game was impressive. Toni Kukoc, Hersey Hawkins, Randy Brown, B.J. Armstrong, Fred Hoiberg and Dedric Willoughby all sat out the game, leaving the Bulls with only two true guards: Benjamin and LaRue.

After trailing by as much as 13 in the first half, LaRue opened the third quarter with a 3 and tied it at 61 with another 3-pointer with 6:58 left in the quarter. Barry answered back with his own 3, then glared at the Bulls bench as he ran downcourt.

Benjamin gave the Bulls a 66-64 lead, their first since midway through the third quarter, when he hit a 3-pointer with 4:59 left in the third. The Bulls then played some scrappy defense to stay in the game, with LaRue coming up with a big turnover in the last minute of the third quarter.

He slapped the ball away from Vernon Maxwell and tossed it to Artest, who took it in for the layup and got hacked by Emanual Davis in the process. The basket brought the Chicago bench to its feet, and Artest converted the three-point play to give the Bulls a 72-69 lead with 19 seconds left in the third quarter.

But that was about all the Bulls had left, and the Sonics pulled it out.

Notes: Payton was called for a technical foul with 7:51 left in the game after vehemently arguing a charging call. ... In just their 22nd game, the Bulls used their 11th different starting lineup. ... Grant led the Sonics with 10 rebounds.