‘Batman’ sparks Sonics

Associated Press

SEATTLE – Shammond Williams may have scored five points in the last 40 seconds of the Seattle SuperSonics’ 92-89 overtime victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday, but he gave the credit to a certain caped crusader.

“I saw four people jump up, and I just saw Batman come from nowhere. He jumped over everybody. It was amazing,” Williams said of Desmond Mason’s soaring left-handed dunk off a missed 3-pointer by Gary Payton as time expired in regulation.

“He looked just like Batman swooping down,” Williams said.

The dunk tied the game at 85-85, and the Sonics seized the momentum in the extra period.

“It was spectacular, a great play. After that, the game was over,” said Charlotte’s Baron Davis, who missed four free throws in the final 1:37 of regulation, including two with eight seconds left and the Hornets up 85-83.

Williams put the Sonics ahead in overtime on a driving, pull-up six-footer with 40 seconds left, then hit three free throws to seal the victory.

Payton led Seattle with 19 points and nine assists, while Williams had a season-high 16 points and career-high eight rebounds.

Jamal Mashburn led Charlotte, scoring 23 of his 27 points in the second half and overtime. Davis added 15 points, and Jamaal Magloire grabbed 11 rebounds.

Charlotte was down 92-89 with eight seconds left in overtime, but David Wesley missed a 3-pointer, then Mashburn missed a 3-pointer as time ran out.

“They executed when they needed to. We couldn’t, and they were able to pull out the game,” Magloire said.

The Sonics had a 10-0 run in the final three minutes of regulation and tied the game on the fully extended, one-handed dunk by Mason, the winner of the 2001 NBA All-Star dunk contest.

“Mason made an unbelievable play, probably one of the top plays of the year,” Sonics coach Nate McMillan said.

“It was a tough play. I probably couldn’t do it again,” Mason said.

The Sonics have won 10 of their last 12 games, while Charlotte has lost five of its last seven.

Mashburn scored 13 points in a 21-12 third-quarter run that erased a 10-point Seattle lead.

“We came out really aggressively, and I thought that was the key to us getting back in the game and going ahead,” Hornets coach Paul Silas said. “They just found a way to make plays down the stretch, and that happened to be the game.”

Mashburn, tied with Davis as Charlotte’s leading scorer at 19.3 points per game, had just four points in the first half on 1-for-8 shooting from the field. He did not attempt a shot in the second quarter, when he played eight minutes.

He shot 8-for-12 in the second half and overtime.

The Hornets shot 36 percent (13-36) in the first half to Seattle’s 51 percent (20-39). But Charlotte went 4-of-5 from 3-point range and 11-of-14 from the foul line to keep the game close.

The Sonics led 47-41 at the half, paced by Payton’s 10 points.