MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Ronald Murray's jumper rolled in as time expired as the Seattle SuperSonics snapped a nine-game losing streak at the Target Center with an 89-87 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Murray scored all of his 13 fourth-quarter points in the final six minutes to give Seattle its first win in Minnesota since March 8, 1998.
Latrell Sprewell lifted the Timberwolves into an 87-87 tie with 14 seconds left with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. But Murray beat Sprewell with an isolation move at the top of the key and drained a 13-foot jumper from the left side that rattled in as the buzzer sounded.
"They gave me a 1-4 clearout, so I was able to 1-on-1 and get a shot up," Murray said. "I got the shot up and it went in. It felt like Sprewell and was trying to force me left, so I took it. He played good defense and it was a contested shot, but it just fell in for me."
"It was a tough shot, what can you say?" Sprewell said. "I could've gotten up a little higher, maybe blocked it, but other than that I thought I forced him to shoot a shot he probably didn't want to. But he was in such a rhythm. Some nights, those go for you."
One game after setting a career high, Murray broke it with 29 points, adding eight assists and six rebounds. The 24-year-old guard was the throw-in in last winter's trade involving Ray Allen and Gary Payton.
"Flip has just been unbelievable the first five games," SuperSonics coach Nate McMillan said. "Flip is a guy who is really confident. He wanted the ball, and he has shown he can create his own shot."
Jerome James added 14 points off the bench and Brent Barry contributed 13 as the SuperSonics, who opened a four-game road trip and avoided their first losing streak of the season.
"First road trip, first game ... it's good to get a win," Murray said. "Now we just need to keep it going."
Rashard Lewis, Seattle's leading scorer at 28 points per game, was held to 11 on 4-of-14 shooting.
"Lewis struggled tonight," McMillan said. "He had one of the best defenders in the league, and they sent two or three guys after him. We had our young guys step up and carry us that first half."
Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 13 rebounds, Sprewell finished with 20 points and Sam Cassell chipped in 15 and 13 assists, but the Timberwolves failed in a bid for a season-high third straight win.
"I made some careless turnovers, so I take full responsibility for this loss," said Cassell, who committed five miscues. "It wasn't Kevin's fault, it wasn't Spree's fault. Those guys played a good basketball game. I did everything wrong down the stretch to allow us not to win this ballgame. I take total responsibility for this loss."
Sprewell wouldn't let Cassell take all the blame, however.
"It's a team game. There are things we all didn't do right," Sprewell said. "This is not a game where one person is going to be totally responsible for a loss. It wasn't just him."
Minnesota matched its largest lead on a layup by Cassell that made it 75-67 with 8:06 left in the fourth quarter. But the SuperSonics went on an 18-5 run to take an 85-82 advantage on a pair of free throws by James with 36 seconds remaining. Murray had nine points in the spurt.
"Mostly, this game was just disappointing," Saunders said. "The disappointing factor is very high because we have been notorious for taking leads into the fourth quarter and winning. We were up seven going in, but we didn't move the ball over and let them back in the game. We didn't play down the stretch like we were capable of."
After Mark Madsen pulled Minnesota within a point with a dunk, Murray hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left to restore Seattle's three-point edge. That evaporated on Sprewell's 3-pointer.
The SuperSonics shot 45 percent (33-of-73) from the field and held a 41-34 advantage on the boards, while the Timberwolves made 43 percent (33-of-76) of their shots.
