Sonics Wipe The Wolves

Gary Payton could do no wrong against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Payton scored a season-high 36 points, including seven 3-pointers, handed out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Seattle SuperSonics over the Timberwolves 110-94 Wednesday night.

"He was playing at a confidence level that nobody else on the court was," said Minnesota rookie Wally Szczerbiak.

"I feel if I have wide-open shots like that I should be sticking them," said Payton, who fell two points shy of his career-high.

Vin Baker had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Sonics, who snapped a two-game home losing streak.

Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost six of their last eight. Szczerbiak added 16 points, while Terrell Brandon had 11 points and 10 assists.

"As a team we are still looking for answers," Garnett said.

Minnesota scored the first basket of the second half before the Sonics ran off 15 straight points to take a 72-54 lead. Payton had two 3-pointers, two free throws and two assists during Seattle's decisive streak.

"This team needs play like that from me and Gary in order to be successful," Baker said.

Malik Sealy's jumper with 9:08 left in the game capped an 8-0 Minnesota run that brought the Timberwolves within seven points.

Szczerbiak scored five straight points to close the gap to eight with 2:40 remaining, but Minnesota got no closer.

Seattle outrebounded the Timberwolves 50-36, led by Baker's 13 board and Ruben Patterson's 11.

"We got beat up a lot on the offensive boards," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. "They got a lot of second-shot opportunities and they made a lot of threes."

The Sonics never trailed and took their biggest lead of the first half at 52-41 on Payton's 3-pointer with 3:46 left until halftime. The Timberwolves responded with an 11-1 run over the next three minutes, including four points by Garnett.

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