PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The hot-shooting Seattle SuperSonics, shooting down the defensive-minded Philadelphia 76ers' hopes of reaching .500, shot a franchise-record 66 percent from the field Monday while coasting to a 109-98 victory.
The final was not as close as the score indicated as Seattle led by as many as 22 points early in the final period. The Sonics finished 41-of-62 from the field.
Philadelphia allowed only one of its first 39 opponents to shoot better than 50 percent, but the Sixers had no answers for the Sonics, who reached the midpoint of the season one game over .500 (21-20).
Gary Payton scored 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting and handed out 11 assists for the Sonics. Vin Baker added 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while Rashard Lewis hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.
Having won four straight and seven of their previous nine, the Sixers (19-21) have been showing signs of turning things around following a 12-18 start. But the loss ended Philadelphia's hopes of hitting the midpoint of the season over .500.
Allen Iverson tried to rally the Sixers after Philadelphia's disastrous third quarter, but it was too little, too late. Iverson scored 38 points and hit a 3-pointer with 8:54 remaining in the contest to go over the 10,000-point mark in career scoring.
The Sonics broke open the contest by outscoring the Sixers, 36-20, in the third quarter and took an 85-65 lead into the final quarter.
The Sonics shot 82 percent in the third quarter, making 14-of-17 shots. In an 87-77 home loss to Philadelphia on January 4, Seattle managed only 14 points in the third period and shot 32 percent.
Through three quarters Monday, the Sonics shot 70 percent (35-of-50), threatening the NBA mark of 70.7 percent set by the San Antonio Spurs at Dallas on April 16, 1983.
Seattle cooled off slightly in the final period, but still bettered the previous team mark of 64.9 percent set against the Houston Rockets on April 13, 1996.
