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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Throw out the preseason
results. The Vancouver Grizzlies are 1-0 when it counts.
|  | | Gary Payton, left, got the triple-double with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, but Mike Bibby's Grizzlies got the win. |
Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 27 points on 12-of-16 shooting andMike Bibby was one assist short of a triple double as the Grizzlies
opened the NBA season Tuesday night with a 94-88 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.
Bibby had 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as the
Grizzlies, 1-7 in the preseason, held on after leading by 25 points
in the first half.
"We took a step forward," Abdur-Rahim said. "But we have to
continue to do it. I think it was good. You could say, 'Well,
you're up 20, you should have won by more,' but I think it was good
that they came back and tested us and we came through."
Seattle's Gary Payton got a triple double, with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, but it was not enough as Patrick Ewing, in
his regular-season debut on the West Coast after 15 seasons with
the New York Knicks, had two points and 12 rebounds in 37 minutes.
"That was a really great effort by our ball club," new Grizzlies coach Sidney Lowe said. "The stars really came out to set the tone for us in the first quarter."
Lowe, who last was a head coach in the NBA in 1993-94, won his 34th career game against 92 losses.
It was a game the Grizzlies never trailed in, but they almost
cost themselves the victory with poor free throw shooting.
Vancouver was 12-of-26 from the line and Michael Dickerson, who
scored 25 points, was 4-of-8 down the stretch.
Sonics guard Shammond Williams tied the game at 67 on a
3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, but Ike Austin, who came off
the bench for the first time to start the fourth quarter, scored
nine quick points. His 3-pointer with 8:17 remaining gave the
Grizzlies a 76-69 lead. Rashard Lewis's 3-pointer with 6:42 left brought Seattle within two, but the Grizzlies scored the next nine
points and Vancouver held on to improve its record in home-openers
to 2-4.
"We saw a little of how good we could be and how bad we can be
tonight," Sonics coach Paul Westphal said. "We came back in the
third quarter. That's the kind of basketball we think we're capable
of but we have to put together more than 12 minutes of that. I
thought we were right there at the start of the fourth quarter and
then Ike Austin comes in and makes four in a row."
Austin was patient through the first three quarters.
"I felt I was going to get the call sometime," said Austin,
who was traded to Vancouver from Washington this summer for four
players. "I just knew that I had to stay focused and do the things
the coaches asked me to do."
The Sonics cut a 20-point halftime deficit to one with 14
seconds left in the third quarter on a free throw by Payton. The
Grizzlies were just 4-for-23 from the field in the quarter after a
sizzling first half.
Game notes
Illinois businessman Michael Heisley, the new owner of the
Grizzlies, performed the Canadian national anthem before the game
to an appreciative audience. ... The Grizzlies have to like the
early part of their schedule. Eight of their first 10 games are
against teams that failed to make the playoffs last season. ...
Payton played in his 316th consecutive game, dating to March 18,
1996. It was also Payton's 11th season-opener for Seattle, and his
franchise-record 10th season-opening start. ... Sonics guard Brent
Barry sprained his ankle in the shootaround this morning and didn't
play.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Seattle Clubhouse
Vancouver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Charlotte 106
Atlanta 82
Cleveland 86
New Jersey 82
Orlando 97
Washington 86
Dallas 97
Milwaukee 93
Philadelphia 101
New York 72
Detroit 104
Toronto 95
Sacramento 100
Chicago 81
Minnesota 106
Houston 98
San Antonio 98
Indiana 85
Utah 107
LA Clippers 94
Golden State 96
Phoenix 94
LA Lakers 96
Portland 86
Vancouver 94
Seattle 88
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