SEATTLE, March 25 (Ticker) -- With seventh place in the Western Conference on the line, the Seattle SuperSonics finally found a way to beat the Utah Jazz.

Rashard Lewis had 28 points and 11 rebounds and Gary Payton scored 24 points as the Sonics ended an eight-game slide against the Jazz and extended their lead in the playoff race with a 106-92 victory.

NBA TV highlights from Jazz-Sonics: 56k | 300k Rashard Lewis' double-double 28 points, 11 rebounds helped the Sonics fight past the Jazz. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty Images

Seattle entered with a one-half game lead over Utah, which holds the final Western Conference postseason spot. The Sonics had not beaten the Jazz since Feb. 8, 2000, including three losses this season, but had little trouble en route to their fourth win in five games.

"I guess it's like a little kid playing his dad in the driveway," Sonics guard Brent Barry said. "You go out there and he beats you up and finally when you get your chance, you try and take advantage of it. We know it's a game where they are directly behind us and we don't dwell on it too long, but we do mention it and it gets our focus where it needs to be."

Seattle never trailed over the final three quarters and had an 86-78 lead with 8:18 remaining before using a 13-2 run to pull away.

Lewis made 1-of-2 free throws and completed a three-point play to spark and the burst and Payton capped it with consecutive baskets to give the Sonics their largest lead, 99-80 with 5:03 to go.

Seattle opened up a 1 1/2 game lead over Utah and pulled within three games of sixth-place Minnesota in the West.

"It looked like a playoff game to them," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "It looked like an exhibition game to us. I though the game would be a little more important than the way we showed up. The kicked us just about every way you can."

Lewis made 10-of-18 shots from the floor and 8-of-11 free throws while Payton shot 8-of-17 and handed out seven assists.

"(Lewis) does things so quietly," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "You look at his stats and he's got 28 points and 11 rebounds and you only remember him making a few shots because everything is done quietly. He came up big."

Barry had 18 points and six assists and rookie Predrag Drobnjak scored 11 points for Seattle, which shot 53 percent (41-of-78) from the floor to overcome 18 turnovers.

Karl Malone had 24 points and six steals and John Stockton collected 17 points and nine assists for the Jazz, who have a 2 1/2 game lead over the ninth-place Los Angeles Clippers.

Bryon Russell scored 16 points, Andrei Kirilenko added 10 and fellow rookie Jarron Collins had nine and 10 rebounds for Utah, which shot just 40 percent (31-of-77) and committed 20 turnovers leading to 21 points for Seattle.

"Maybe these guys have one of their agents call you and tell when it would be fun for them to play and see if it happens," Sloan said. "I wish their agents would call me and talk to me about how the (heck) they want to play. You can't play basketball that way."

The Jazz lost starting forward Donyell Marshall to a strained left calf in the first quarter but had a 44-34 rebounding advantage.

Seattle had a 20-19 lead after the first quarter before Barry scored seven points during an 8-0 run to open the second. The Jazz climbed within 38-35 with 3:49 left in the quarter, but the Sonics closed the first half with a 14-2 spurt.

Payton scored six points in the final 3:18 and Lewis tallied the last four of the second quarter as Seattle went into halftime with a 52-37 cushion.

Malone scored 14 points in the third quarter as the Jazz outscored the Sonics, 32-24, and pulled within 76-69 entering the final period.

"I think (the Jazz) wasted a lot of energy trying to come back," McMillan said. "They had to up the tempo, which is not their style. I think later on in the third quarter and the fourth they wore down because they had to use so much energy to make that run."