SuperSonics 101, Clippers 93

SEATTLE (AP) Ray Allen gave Predrag Drobnjak all the room he needed for the Seattle SuperSonics.

With the Los Angeles Clippers keying on Allen, Drobnjak scored a career-high 26 points in Seattle's 101-93 victory Friday night.

``We wanted to stop Ray Allen and we played him well, but you can't stop everybody out there,'' Clippers coach Dennis Johnson said. ``We chose to go after Ray, and Drobnjak was open.''

Drobnjak was 9-of-15 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, to help keep the Sonics in playoff contention. Seattle closed within 2{ games of idle Phoenix for the eighth spot in the Western Conference. The Sonics have seven games remaining, including a season-ending game against the Suns on April 16.

Seattle has won eight of 11 to stay in the race.

The last time the two teams met, Allen scored a season-high 40 points on March 1. This time, it was Drobnjak's night.

Drobnjak made an impact from the start, scoring 11 of his points in the first quarter.

His biggest basket of the game came on a three-point play when he was fouled on a layup by Sean Rooks with 1:16 to play. His free throw gave the Sonics a 94-88 lead.

``There is not any particular reason why I played good tonight,'' said Drobnjak, whose previous high was 23 points. ``I just come into the game and play hard because we still have some chance to make the playoffs.''

A pair of free throws by Rooks with 41.6 seconds left cut the Seattle lead to 96-93, but on the following possession Brent Barry drained a 3-pointer with 31.5 to play.

``We need to win to stay alive and that's how we're playing now,'' Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. ``At times our bench came in and we struggled a little bit with our intensity, but our first unit was pretty solid tonight.''

The Clippers have lost six of their last seven, and six straight on the road. They were led by Eric Piatkowski, who came off the bench to score 21 points. Lamar Odom had 19, and Elton Brand had 15 points and a game-high 19 rebounds.

It was Brand's second game since missing 18 with a stress fracture in his lower left leg.

``Personally, I'm a little disappointed. I missed some layups. I missed five weeks and my timing is off,'' said Brand, who had nine of his rebounds on the offensive end.

``We played well, but they played better. I'm proud of our team because they're fighting for a playoff spot. We fought hard. They're fighting for a cause and we're just fighting to end the season well.''

Four Sonics starters scored in double figures. Rashard Lewis had 22, Allen scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and Barry had 15.< ^Notes:@ Clippers G Quentin Richardson did not play because of a bruised left knee. ... Seattle is 15-8 since acquiring Allen in a trade that sent Gary Payton to Milwaukee.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)