Donyell Marshall had 20 points and 10 rebounds and John Stockton scored 11 of his 18 points in the decisive second quarter as Utah continued its dominance over Seattle with a 112-88 victory.
 John Stockton matched Gary Payton with 18 points in the contest. Kent Horner NBAE/Getty Images |
"We've just had no answer for these guys the last two games, really three game if you count a preseason game they just whipped us," Seattle coach Nate McMillan said. "We just got a spanking each time we've played these guys. Their execution is far above ours in the games we've played and it hasn't even been close."
"They're a good team, and with the matchups they get our attention," Stockton said. "I think everybody comes to the game against them focused and stay focused throughout the game, and that's important for us."
Utah posted a 17-point victory against Seattle on November 3 and dominated the second quarter on Wednesday en route to its seventh straight win in the series.
The Jazz made 15-of-22 shots in the second period, turning a two-point lead into a 63-46 halftime cushion. Stockton made 4-of-5 shots from the floor and 3-of-4 free throws in the quarter.
"I thought we had a lot of energy tonight, and when you have that king of energy, good things happen," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "Our guys game to play and it showed."
Utah's Karl Malone scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Rookie Andrei Kirilenko scored 15 points and fellow reserve John Starks added 11.
Vin Baker led Seattle with 20 points and Gary Payton scored 18. Rashard Lewis had 13 points and eight assists and Desmond Mason chipped in 12 points off the bench for the Sonics, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Utah made 10-of-16 shots in the opening 12 minutes but only had a 29-27 lead after the first. Payton kept the Sonics close with 10 points, and Baker added six.
The Jazz opened the second quarter on a 16-4 run and built a 45-31 lead with 6:12 left. Marshall and Greg Ostertag scored four points in the spurt while Stockton made a layup, a jump shot and dished out two of his five assists.
Utah blew it open midway through the third with a modest 16-9 stretch that turned its 14-point lead into an 81-60 cushion.
The Jazz had their largest lead, 110-80 with 2:26 to play, after a 19-8 spurt in the fourth quarter.
Utah shot 54 percent (43-of-79), despite making only 5-of-17 3-pointers, and limited itself to 12 turnovers. The Jazz also dominated in transition, outscoring Seattle, 25-2.
"That's two games we've played against Utah and two games they've just picked us apart," Seattle guard Brent Barry said. "It was all transition, easy baskets, layups. When you allow things like that against this team, as efficient as they are, they're as good as they used to be."