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Green, Szczerbiak carry Sonics past lowly Timberwolves

Dec 30, 2007 - 7:06 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Seattle SuperSonics proved they are more then an one-man team.

Rookie Jeff Green and Wally Szczerbiak each scored 18 points as the SuperSonics posted a convincing 109-90 victory over the slumping Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

Chris Wilcox had 14 points and 11 rebounds before leaving with a knee injury in the third quarter and Kurt Thomas pulled down 15 boards as Seattle beat Minnesota for the second straight time.

The SuperSonics needed a collective performance from everyone with rookie Kevin Durant watching from the sidelines due to a sprained index finger sustained in the first quarter. X-rays were negative.

"I just ran into somebody and sprained my finger," said Durant, who finished with six points. "It hurt more than it usually does. I hit it almost every game, but his time the pain just didn't stop."

"Injuries are a major concern, but we had good effort," Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "Injuries are going to happen. I thought we shared the ball well and a lot of people played well. There were a lot of good signs and a lot of encouraging signs."

With Durant unable to return, Green made the best of his second career start. Taken with the fifth overall pick in June's draft, the 6-9 forward connected on 8-of-12 shots and had three blocks.

"That's how we are supposed to play," said Green, who grabbed five rebounds. "We had a lot of boards and open shots. We played well together."

Tied at 40-40 in the second, Seattle closed out the half on an aggressive 17-6 surge to forge a 57-46 bulge at intermission on the shoulders of Szczerbiak, who netted eight points in the run.

"It was a good team win," Szczerbiak said. "Everyone contributed and everyone played well. We started to move the ball and had good rotation which led to us having open and better shots."

The Sonics continued to pour it on in the third as Damien Wilkins' 22-footer capped a 23-6 burst that opened the period, pushing the lead to 80-52 with 3:09 remaining.

Al Jefferson was held in check with 17 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who shot just 35 percent (29-of-82) from the floor and were outscored, 63-30, between the second and third quarters.

Sebastain Telfair and Craig Smith both poured in 12 points as Minnesota dropped its fourth consecutive decision.