Associated Press
SEATTLE – Gary Payton had 18 points and Rashard Lewis added 13 as the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Los Angeles Clippers 96-85 on Wednesday night in the exhibition opener for both teams.
Seattle opened the game with an 11-2 run and never let the Clippers get closer than three.
Vin Baker added 10 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots for the Sonics, while newcomer Predrag Drobnjak of Yugoslavia had 10 points. Corey Maggette led the Clippers with 16 points, Quentin Richardson had 14 and Darius Miles 13.
The Sonics outrebounded the Clippers 52-39 and had 12 blocked shots to Los Angeles’ five.
The game marked the first pairing of young star forwards Elton Brand and Lamar Odom for Los Angeles. Brand, the 2000 co-rookie of the year who came to the Clippers in a draft day trade with Chicago, scored just three points on 1-of-7 shooting. Odom didn’t fare much better, finishing with seven points on 2-of-6 shooting.
Seattle led 51-43 at the half. Lewis paced the Sonics with eight points, while Payton had seven points and five assists.
Richardson and Maggette both had nine points in the first half for Los Angeles.
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