TACOMA, Wash., Jan. 24 -- Shawn Kemp scored 19 points and Gary Payton added 16 to lead seven Seattle players in double figures Tuesday night, helping the SuperSonics to their 10th straight win with a 111-89 triumph over the Denver Nuggets. The win was Seattle's 17th in a row at home and improved the Sonics to 18-1 at the Tacoma Dome.
Denver fell to its fifth consecutive defeat, all under interim coach Gene Littles, who still is seeking his first win with the Nuggets. Littles took over the team after Dan Issel resigned a week ago. The Nuggets were playing in Seattle for the first time since their shocking Game 5 overtime win in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs last season. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf scored 27 points, hitting 12 of 19 shots from the floor, to lead Denver. Dikembe Mutombo had 16 rebounds and 5 blocked shots and Brian Williams added 16 points and 7 rebounds for the Nuggets. The SuperSonics used a 19-7 run to snap a 37-37 tie and take a 56-44 advantage with 1:43 left before halftime. Denver got no closer than nine points in the third quarter and was closed out by a game-ending 25-13 spurt by Seattle. Detlef Schrempf had 16 points and 9 rebounds for the Sonics. Kendall Gill scored 14 points, Nate McMillan and 11 and Vincent Askew and Sarunas Marciulionis each had 10 for Seattle. The Nuggets shot 44 percent from the floor and managed only 39 second-half points. Seattle forced 17 turnovers and converted them into 20 points. The SuperSonics commmitted just eight turnovers.
