Bowen leads Spurs over Sonics

Tim Duncan added 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds for the playoff- bound Spurs, who have won seven of eight.

Chris Wilcox had 20 points to lead the Sonics, who have dropped two in a row after winning three straight. Rashard Lewis added 19 points for Seattle, which fell behind early and never recovered.

The Spurs never trailed in the game, scoring 12 of the first 16 points. San Antonio later extended to a 30-17 lead after a Michael Finley three-pointer late in the stanza and cruised into the second with a 33-22 lead.

The Sonics drew within 45-39 after a Wilcox bucket midway through stanza, but the Spurs answered with a Bowen three-pointer to extend the lead to nine. Bowen’s trey with just over four minutes left then made it a 53-42 game and San Antonio went into the third with a 60-48 cushion.

The game got out of control in the third. Ahead 67-58 four minutes into the quarter, the Spurs ended the frame with a 24-7 run to take a 91-65 lead into the final 12 minutes. The Spurs got balanced scoring during the surge, with four different players scoring four points each.

Game Notes

Seattle hit just 2-of-8 three-pointers, while the Spurs hit 9-of-21 led by Bowen’s 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc...Finley ended with 13 points...Fabrico Oberto ended with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs...San Antonio won all four meetings against the Sonics this season.