PHOENIX, Feb. 19 (Ticker) -- It looks like Frank Johnson has inherited a mess.

Johnson suffered his second straight loss since becoming the new coach of the Phoenix Suns as Brent Barry scored 18 points for the Seattle SuperSonics in a 103-91 victory.

On Sunday, Johnson replaced Scott Skiles, who resigned. Later that night, the Suns were soundly beaten at home by the Dallas Mavericks.

On Tuesday, the Suns again struggled, leading on only two occasions as they suffered their fourth straight loss and fell three games behind Seattle for the Western Conference's final playoff berth. Phoenix has not missed the playoffs since 1988.

NBA TV highlights from Sonics-Suns: 56k | 300k Predrag Drobnjak had 15 points for the Sonics against the Suns. Barry Gossage NBAE/Getty Images

Rashard Lewis also scored 18 points for the Sonics, who placed six players in double figures en route to their fifth straight road win. Seattle (28-25) also moved three games over .500 for the second time this season.

"It's a big win for us," Lewis said. "We have to continue to play basketball the way we're playing. We're playing together as a team and that's pretty much it."

Stephon Marbury, who did not start and was benched in the second half of Sunday's game for being late to a shootaround, scored 28 points to lead the Suns on Tuesday. The point guard made 12-of-26 shots in 39 minutes.

"They made some really tough shots," Marbury said. "Those guys have been shooting the ball extremely well over the last five or six games. It's tough when you're playing against a team and they're on fire."

Shawn Marion also had a big game for the Suns as he finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds.

Phoenix, which led by as many as 15 points in the first half of Sunday's game, was in front 35-33 with 8:36 remaining in the second quarter on Tuesday following Tony Delk's layup. The Suns took a 56-54 lead into the intermission on a basket by Marion with 1.1 seconds left in the half.

"I liked how we ended the first half," Johnson said.

A three-point play by Barry and a 17-footer by Payton gave the Sonics the lead for good at 65-60 with 6:33 left in the third quarter. Payton scored 16 points as the Sonics shot 55 percent (41-of-74) in the contest.

"We're doing a good job moving the ball," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "We only had 12 turnovers in this game and the last two to three games, we're right at 29-30 assists a game. We're really sharing the ball and moving the ball."

The Sonics held a four-point lead entering the fourth quarter and a 3-pointer by Barry extended the margin to 89-80 with 6:08 remaining. Barry made 5-of-8 shots from the field and all seven of his foul shots.

A 3-pointer by Penny Hardaway, who scored 13 points, pulled the Suns within 91-87 with 2:43 to play.

But Desmond Mason scored on a layup, Payton hit a jumper and Lewis made a pair of foul shots, sealing it for the Sonics.

Rodney Rogers added 19 points for the Suns, who shot 42 percent (39-of-92) and held a commanding 49-31 rebounding advantage. But they hurt themselves by committing 18 turnovers.

"What really killed us was the turnovers," Johnson said. "Guess what we'll be doing tomorrow ... ballhandling. We'll be doing a lot of ballhandling tomorrow but it won't change overnight. We've got to emphasize defense."