L.A. Clippers 115 - Seattle 101
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 4 (AP) -- Corey Maggette scored 27 points and Tim Thomas made three 3-pointers during a one-minute span late in the fourth quarter to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 115-101 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Sunday.
Thomas finished with 20 points, Cuttino Mobley added 17 points and Chris Kaman had 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who were coming off a season-opening 120-114 win against Golden State on Friday night. They started out a franchise-record 6-0 at home last year before the Sonics snapped that streak with a 95-85 victory.
Kevin Durant scored 24 points to lead Seattle, which is 0-3 for the first time since 1985-86. Durant is averaging 23 points and 36.3 minutes.
The Clippers used Quinton Ross, Mobley and Maggette at different times to try and defend against Durant's perimeter shooting. The rookie was 10-for-19 from the field, hitting three 3-pointers.
The Clippers entered the fourth quarter with a two-point lead and stretched it to 94-82 with 6:60 remaining. Mobley and Dan Dickau drained 3-pointers 31 seconds apart during the 16-6 run, which Mobley capped with a dunk off an offensive rebound. Seattle had only six points in the first 6:12 of the final quarter, all by Wally Szczerbiak, who finished with 13.
Thomas, who set a franchise record last season with 356 3-point baskets, hit his third in a row to make it 109-92 with 2:43 to play and put the game out of reach.
Kaman, who had a career-high 26 points along with 18 rebounds against the Warriors, picked up his third foul with 2:53 left in the second quarter. It forced coach Mike Dunleavy to go with a smaller lineup, and the Sonics capitalized on the 7-foot center's absence by outscoring the Clippers 14-4 the rest of the half and tying the score 52-all. Damien Wilkins capped the rally with a 12-foot running jumper with 1.3 seconds on the clock.
Notes: Seattle's worst start was 0-6 in 1969-70 under player-coach Lenny Wilkens, who would end up as the winningest coach in NBA history. ... P.J. Carlesimo, in his first season as Seattle's coach, spent three with Portland and never started 0-3. But in his three seasons with Golden State, the Warriors opened up 0-9, 0-5 and 0-4. ... Durant, the first freshman honored as national college player of the year, has a chance to become the first player in the Sonics' 41-year history to be named NBA rookie of the year. Gary Payton lost out to New Jersey's Derrick Coleman in 1990-91. ... Seattle C center Nick Collison missed all six shots, playing 23 scoreless minutes with 10 rebounds.
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