 Gary Payton stoops to any level to keep Raef LaFrentz and the Nuggets from the ball. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty Images 56k | 300k |
Van Exel outscored the SuperSonics, 21-16, in the third quarter. He hit five 3-pointers, four free throws and another basket in the period, helping the Nuggets turn a six-point halftime deficit to an 81-70 lead entering the fourth quarter.
"I kept telling everybody in the first half that my shot was there, even though I had one airball and the one Brent Barry put in the stands," Van Exel said of his 3-of-13 shooting through two quarters. "But they were right there, right on line. Everybody kept telling me to keep shooting. That's a big confidence-booster, when the coaches and players tell you to keep shooting."
Seattle got within 86-82 with Van Exel resting at the beginning of the period. But the 6-2 guard returned and promptly hit his seventh 3-pointer at the 6:47 mark. The Sonics closed to 93-90, but Van Exel keyed an 8-0 run with a floater in the lane with 2:48 to play.
"Nick's a shooter," Denver coach Dan Issel said. "He's one of the few guys on our team who has the mentality that if he missed five in a row, the next five are going to go in. He was 3-of-13 at half and thank goodness he kept shooting."
Raef LaFrentz and George McCloud each contributed 17 points for the Nuggets, which had not won here since February 9, 1993. Denver has won four of five overall.
Rashard Lewis had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Barry scored 22 points and Desmond Mason added 19 for Seattle.
"(Van Exel) was phenomenal in the third quarter and that's really when they took over the game," Barry said. "He made a lot of tough shots and they played the game we wanted to play, real scrappy, and they came into our building, and so it's not a good feeling."
Gary Payton scored 16 points but was held to 4-of-14 shooting by Denver's Tariq Abdul-Wahad.
"When you guard guys like this, you've got to take yourself out of the game offensively," said Abdul-Wahad, who had five points. "It was really a good game for us tonight. This one I'll remember. I did this to him once two years ago in Sacramento so I knew I could do it. Some guys could score 50 or 100 points, but playing defense is different. I'm dead tired."
Seattle (4-7) failed in a bid for its first consecutive wins of the season.
"We allowed those guys to hang around and Nick finally got hot," Seattle coach Nate McMillan said. "We played some pretty good defense on him and he knocked down some shots. If he missed those shots, the game could've gone the other way."
"If we play like that, we're going to snap a lot of streaks," Issel said. "That was one of the more intelligent games we've played. We followed the script to perfection both offensively and defensively and you can't give T (Abdul-Wahad) enough credit for the job he did on Payton. And then Quick (Van Exel) just went off in the second half."