TOKYO (Ticker) -- Without star guard Ray Allen, the Seattle SuperSonics used a balanced attack to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers, 109-100, at Saitama Super Arena in the season opener for both teams.
Rashard Lewis scored 25 points and Ronald Murray - who started in place of Allen - added 24 for Seattle, which held a 44-42 edge at halftime and never trailed thereafter. Allen, Seattle's only All-Star, is on the injured list with a sprained ankle.
"My team stepped up and we played together as a team. He played good for us," Lewis said about Murray, whom the SuperSonics acquired with Allen in the February 20 deal that sent All-Star Gary Payton and Desmond Mason to Milwaukee. "He had a good training camp he's going to continue doing it all season long he's a good player. It was a total team effort. It was one unit."
Murray, who played just 12 games with Milwaukee and two with the SuperSonics last season, was Seattle's only starter to shoot 50 percent from the floor, knocking down 10-of-17 shots. The Sonics shot 41 percent (40-of-98) and scored 28 points off turnovers.
Brent Barry contributed 19 points and nine assists and Vladimir Radmanovic recorded 13 and 11 rebounds, helping Seattle overcome a big effort by Elton Brand. Barry scored five points in the first half, when Lewis got off to a slow start, missing 4-of-5 shots and picking up three fouls.
"I think he was the one that kept us going in the first half," Lewis said of Barry. "He did his part in the first half, I did my part in the second half."
Barry concurred.
"I even told Rashard at the half, `I did my part while you were out, now it's your turn,'" he said.
Brand had 21 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots and Corey Maggette had 21 points and nine boards for Los Angeles, which committed 21 turnovers.
"The goal is just to help my teammates if they're beat," Brand said. "They were getting to the hole pretty easily, I just tried to step up and do something. It's very disappointing to lose this game. Seattle played well. We made a lot of mistakes. We just have to be prepared not to make turnovers and give them so many second-chance points."
Eddie House came off the bench to score 22 points and hand out six assists in 34 minutes, but starting guard Keyon Dooling missed both of his shots and committed three turnovers in 11 minutes.
"We committed too many turnovers," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Some of them were very careless. That put a lot of pressure on our offense."
The Sonics opened the third quarter with a 6-0 surge to push the lead to 52-42, when Radmanovic hit a jumper with 10:31 remaining. Seattle got its transition game untracked in the third with Lewis dunking off an alley-oop pass from Barry to take a 64-51 advantage with 8:17 to go.
Seattle took its biggest lead with 3:11 left in the third, when rookie Luke Ridnour sank a pair of free throws to make it 77-59. Ridnour, who was selected with the 14th pick acquired in the Allen deal, had eight points and three assists in 18 minutes.
The Clippers faced a 14-point deficit heading into the fourth period and used a 7-2 surge to close within 92-85 on a reverse layup by Brand with 5:38 to play. Los Angeles also scored seven straight points to trim the margin to 104-100 when Maggette dunked with 59 seconds left.
The Clippers had a chance to close within two points as Quentin Richardson pulled down a rebound off a missed a jumper by Lewis with 37 seconds remaining. But Richardson forced a bank shot in the lane and Barry grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball upcourt. Calvin Booth, who had eight points and eight boards, barreled through the paint uncovered and dunked to put the Sonics ahead, 106-100, with 23 seconds left.
The crowd of 19,323 cheered for both teams throughout the contest and they will meet again here Friday night.
"They have a great knowledge of the game," Brand said about the fans.
