Gary Payton collected 24 points, 11 assists and six rebounds to lead the Sonics to their 21st win in the last 24 meetings with the Grizzlies, 89-77.
Payton rebounded from a lackluster effort against Philadelphia on Friday, when he had just 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting. He made 10-of-19 shots against Memphis, which suffered its fourth consecutive loss.
Rashard Lewis scored 19 points and Brent Barry added 16, as Seattle posted its seventh win in eight games.
| from Sonics-Grizzlies: 56k | 300k  Gary Payton drives to the basket on Shane Battier in Memphis. Joe Murphy NBAE/Getty Images |
Jason Williams led the Grizzlies with 19 points and rookie Pau Gasol had 16. But Memphis has followed home victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago with three straight losses at The Pyramid.
"Face the facts, we're the worst team in the league," Williams said. "Some people say the Hawks are the worst, we're the worst. We're the worst team in the league. Print that top headline – ‘The Grizzlies are the worst team in the league.'"
The Grizzlies led 31-30, but Payton put the Sonics ahead for good with a 3-pointer 5:34 before halftime. Payton was 2-for-3 behind the arc and is shooting 30 percent from 3-point range this season.
Payton's shot triggered an 18-9 run to close the quarter as Seattle took a 48-40 lead at the break.
"Gary is tough," Grizzlies rookie forward Shane Battier said. "He's an All-Star and future Hall of Famer. I just tried to make him work and limit his shots."
Gasol had 12 points in the first half.
Battier nailed a 16-foot jumper from the right side with 7:06 left in the fourth quarter, lifting Memphis within 73-65. But Lewis made a layup seconds later, triggering a 9-2 run that extended the Sonics' lead to 82-67 with 4:07 to play.
Lewis fueled the burst with seven points and finished 8-of-17 from the field.
Two nights after scoring 22 points against Atlanta, Battier was held to 11 on 5-of-11 shooting. Memphis shot 47 percent (35-of-74) but was just 2-of-11 from the arc.
"We did some things well," Grizzlies forward Grant Long said. "Obviously, we didn't do enough things well because we didn't come out on top."
"We've just got to stay in the ballgame and finish one of these off," Memphis coach Sidney Lowe added. "We just need to finish one."
Gasol had eight points and Williams seven in the first quarter, helping the Grizzlies to a 23-19 lead.