Threatt Wins It For Sonics -- Late Layup Beats Mavs

With 14 seconds left in the game, Sedale Threat held the Seattle SuperSonics' fate in his hands and he didn't drop it.

The Sonic guard took Dallas' Rolando Blackman to the basket and banked a layup off the glass with seven seconds left to carry the Sonics to 106-105 NBA victory over the Mavericks at the Coliseum last night.

The win left both teams 7-13. It was the Sonics' second victory on their home court since beating New Jersey 105-88 on Nov. 20.

Seattle built a five-point lead early in the fourth period but had to struggle to keep the Mavericks from winning in the final minutes.

Derek Harper's three-point basket with 2:06 left in the game gave Dallas a 103-102 lead.

Threatt put Seattle back on top 104-103 with an 18-foot jump shot with 1:20 to play. But Blackmon was fouled at the other end and made both free throws with 56 seconds remaining, giving the Mavericks a 105-104 advantage.

With 32 seconds remaining, Seattle's Derrick McKey missed a shot from the left baseline and Dallas controlled the rebound.

Harper missed a jumper with 20 seconds left, but Threatt scooped up the rebound near the Mavericks' free-throw line and raced up court surrounded by three Dallas players.

Seattle called time out to set up its final play. Nate McMillan in-bounded the ball near the Sonic bench to Threatt, who was guarded by Blackman, the game's leading scorer with 28 points.

Threatt circled to his right, then drove down the lane and put the ball in off the backboard with his right hand.

Dallas' Rodney McCray got off a running hook from eight feet just ahead of the buzzer, but it bounced off the front of the rim, giving Seattle the victory.

Shawn Kemp was Seattle's leading scorer with 22. Threatt finished with 16, while McKey and Eddie Johnson had 15 each. Dallas got 22 from Harper and 20 from Alex English.

Seattle twice built eight-point leads in the third period. The first time came on Kemp's two-handed, reverse dunk with 3:49 left in the third. That made it 74-66.

After a pair of English free throws for Dallas, Kemp converted an offensive rebound into a layup that made it 76-68 with 2:50 in the third.

Then the Mavericks fought back and closed the gap, aided by several Sonics miscues, by outscoring Seattle 12-4 over the rest of the period.

Dallas tied the score at 80, on a 15-foot jumper by Blackman with two seconds left in the third. Blackman made two of Dallas three successful three-point shots in the period. Harper had the other.

The teams battled on even terms in the first half, with the Mavericks holding a 31-28 lead at the end of the first period.

Blackman, with eight points, and Harper's six, powered the Mavericks in the first period. But the offensive star of the quarter was Seattle center Michael Cage.

The 6-foot-9 Cage victimized Dallas' 7-2 James Donaldson for three driving layups in the opening 12 minutes. Cage had nine points, drew a foul and converted the free throw on one of his trips to the basket, and three rebounds in the period.

With Dale Ellis scoring seven of his 12 first-half points early in the second period, the Sonics looked like they were on the verge of breaking away from the Mavericks as the end of the first half neared.

Ellis finished the game with 15 points in 18 minutes. He hit 6 of 10 field-goal tries, and 2 of 5 shots from three-point range.

Seattle outrebounded the Mavericks 34-29, but Dallas made a 27 of 31 foul shots; Seattle was 6 of 8.

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SONIC REPORT

SEATTLE VS. DALLAS

NOTES

-- Last night's game closed Dallas' three-game West Coast swing. The Mavericks beat the Lakers 112-97 to start the trip. Dallas ripped the Lakers 23-8 in the five-minute, overtime period. Friday night, the Mavs lost 106-104 at Portland.

-- Dallas opened the season 4-1, but since losing 6-11 forward Roy Tarpley to a knee injury, the Mavs have struggled at a .500 pace. They entered last night's game with a 7-12 overall record. Before beating the Lakers Wednesday, the Mavericks dropped five consecutive road games.

-- Former Sonic James Donaldson scored a season-high 22 points against the Blazers Friday. He had seven rebounds and two blocked shots in 39 minutes. The ex-Washington State Cougar has blocked 40 shots this season. He didn't block 40 a season ago until Feb. 22 (47th game).

-- Entering last night's game with Dallas, the Sonics were outscored from the free-throw line in the past 16 games.

- John Peoples