SEATTLE (AP) -- Even the absence of Rashard Lewis isn't slowing
down the Seattle SuperSonics.
Ray Allen scored 27 points and Vladimir Radmanovic added 23
points and 11 rebounds, leading the Sonics to a 105-97 victory over
the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.
The Sonics won their second straight game without Lewis, their
second-leading scorer who is sidelined with tendinitis in his left
knee.
Allen said the play of Radmanovic -- one of Seattle's primary
reserves -- was the key to the Sonics' win, their fourth in five
games.
"Vlade has a focus about him that he knows he's being counted
on," Allen said. "He knows he's going to get shots. He's a big
weapon for us."
LeBron James, making his second trip to Seattle, had 35 points
and 11 assists. James, who ranks sixth in the league in scoring,
shot 14-for-30 from the field.
James agreed with Allen.
"They got a great contribution off the bench from Vladimir,"
he said. "I've been watching what he's been doing all year and we
knew he can shoot the ball real well. He's a threat to any team
that comes in here."
Allen, the league's No. 7 scorer, had seven points in the fourth
quarter to help hold off the Cavs and James.
Allen drove the baseline and hit a 5-footer with 1:38 remaining,
giving Seattle a 94-88 lead, then equaled James' 3-pointer with one
of his own with 1:12 left to put the Sonics up 97-91.
"The fourth quarter is my time, I feel," Allen said. "Whether
I make a shot or not. I'm going to do something. I'm going to be
heard or seen in the fourth quarter."
James had a dunk with 30.8 seconds to go, cutting Seattle's lead
to 97-93, but the Sonics' Luke Ridnour made six free throws and
Antonio Daniels added a pair from the line in the final 28.4
seconds.
"Any time at the end of the game you want to convert on free
throws," Ridnour said. "You want to knock them down from the line
just to maintain that lead."
Drew Gooden finished with 27 points for Cleveland.
Ridnour had a career-high 18 points for Seattle, while Antonio
Daniels added 15.
The Northwest Division-leading Sonics improved to 27-9, while
the Cavs -- in first place in the Central Division -- fell to 22-14.
Cleveland lost for just the second time in seven games.
In the third quarter, the Cavs grabbed a 72-63 lead with 3:17
remaining, but Danny Fortson scored on a fastbreak layup to tie the
score at 74-all with 33.9 seconds left. Seattle outscored Cleveland
13-3 in the final 3 minutes to take a 76-75 lead after three
periods.
Fortson, a key player off the bench in his first season in
Seattle, had a hunch the Cavs would run out of gas because they
played Saturday night in Utah.
"Obviously, they got tired," said Fortson, who had seven
points and five rebounds before fouling out in 16 minutes.
Sonics coach Nate McMillan was happy with the win and the
Sonics' 50-31 advantage on the boards. But he was unhappy with his
team's 23 turnovers, including six by Allen.
"I think we're playing in traffic," McMillan said. "I think
we're doing too much pounding, too much dribbling as opposed to
moving the ball. Teams like that have good defenders on the ball."
Cavs coach Paul Silas was unhappy with the lack of rebounding
from Gooden and starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who combined
for just seven.
"They have to pick it up," Silas said. "Seven rebounds
between them in 30 minutes is unacceptable."
Game notes
Seattle ended a three-game losing streak against the Cavs.
... The Sonics don't know when Lewis will return. Lewis, who's
averaging 20.6 points, tested his left knee in a workout before the
game, but it was too sore to play.