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SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Miami Heat still are winless in Seattle. Gary Payton scored 26 points and Vin Baker added a season-high 25 as the Seattle SuperSonics held off a late rally for their ninth straight win over the Heat, 92-88. The SuperSonics improved to 20-3 all-time against the Heat, including 12-0 at home. Miami had its three-game winning streak snapped. Seattle used a 13-5 run to open its biggest lead at 84-72 with 4:48 left. Payton scored five points during that spurt, including a 3-pointer to close the run that turned out to be the Sonics' last basket. "We did all right. We just played," Payton said. "Everybody did what they had to do. We played good defense and we did well against a good team." Alonzo Mourning's hook shot capped a 10-0 run that pulled Miami within 84-82 with 67 seconds left. Mourning scored six points in that spurt and Jamal Mashburn added four. But the SuperSonics made 8-of-10 free throws the rest of the way and won for the fourth time in six games. Ruben Patterson made all four of his, including a pair with 23 seconds left for a 91-86 cushion. "It obviously was a big win for us," Sonics coach Paul Westphal said. "I don't know how you can figure this team out, but I know they gave us a great effort tonight." Payton dished out six assists, giving him 5,005 in his career. He passed Nate McMillian earlier this season as the franchise's all-time leader. Vernon Maxwell scored 16 points for Seattle, which shot 40 percent (32-of-81) from the field. Mourning paced the Heat with 23 points and 10 rebounds and was 11-of-12 from the foul line. Mashburn scored 21 but committed seven of Miami's 25 turnovers. Rookie Anthony Carter added 19 points as Miami shot 44 percent (30-of-68) and held a 47-29 rebounding edge but fell to 3-2 on its six-game road trip. "I take a lot of that responsiblity," Mourning said. "I didn't come out strong tonight at all. We did come out kind of lethargic, but the enegry wasn't there. When you're on the road you have to be up and ready." Baker scored Seattle's first 17 points and finished the opening quarter 7-of-10 from the floor. Baker (21), Payton (13) and Maxwell (eight) were Seattle's only scorers in the first half as it opened a 42-38 lead. "I've never had a streak like that to open the game," Baker said. "So it was important to come out aggressive and the most important thing though was that we got the win and everybody else got involved."
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