CLEVELAND CAVALIERS Payton now No. 9 in assists
Gary Payton and Rashard Lewis led Seattle to its 15th straight win over Cleveland.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Gary Payton hardly batted an eye about moving into ninth place on the NBA's career assists list. Seattle teammate Rashard Lewis felt the same way about beating Cleveland.
Payton had nine assists and scored 23 points as the SuperSonics beat the Cavaliers 111-98 on Monday night.
"Just another game," Payton said. "We needed to execute to win and we did."
Lewis scored 29 points on 10-for-15 shooting and had 10 rebounds, to help Seattle beat the lowly Cavs for the 15th straight time.
"Let's not get too excited, we just beat the Cleveland Cavaliers," Lewis said.
Passed Porter
Payton, in his 13th season, passed Terry Porter on the assists list by feeding Desmond Mason for a layup with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter to put Seattle ahead 76-58.
Payton has 7,164 assists, and is averaging a league-leading 9.5 this season. He needs 48 to move past eighth-place Lenny Wilkens.
"He proved himself to the fullest," said Cleveland's Darius Miles, who made his first start at point guard in an attempt to contain Payton. "He's a leader and so calm. You never get him scared or hyped or anything. We made a run, he came back in and changed the whole game around."
Payton said he was just doing his job.
"Cleveland went to a zone and we started just putting up shots," he said. "It was my job to settle us down, penetrate and get them out of the zone."
Drobnjak hits 23
Predrag Drobnjak scored a career-high 23 points for the Sonics, and Reggie Evans had 17 rebounds, 10 in the first quarter.
"You play against Gary, you worry about him," Drobnjak said. "He's one of the best, especially at the pick-and-roll. That leaves a lot of space for me."
Lewis converted a key putback with 5:56 to play to give Seattle a 95-85 lead after Cleveland whittled a 19-point deficit to eight. Moments later, the 6-foot-10 forward swished a 12-footer to end Cleveland's comeback hopes.
"A key was our matchups," Lewis said. "They had three small guards and we took advantage of them."
Ricky Davis scored 20 points to lead Cleveland, 3-4 since its 15-game losing streak. Jermaine Jones added 19 points.
Attendance low again
"We need some fans here so we don't lay an egg," Davis said after the Cavs played in front of only 7,596 fans, their fifth consecutive crowd of less than 10,000. "It's like being at practice.
"They don't cheer when you make a basket or they cheer for the other team. It's getting ridiculous. There's no life in the building, like we are playing on the road.
"I don't blame the fans, I blame what we've been doing, our record. We have got to get the fans back."
Davis, who averaged 34 points in his previous four games, shot 2-for-10 in the first half, as did rookie Dajuan Wagner. Davis finished 7-for-21 and Wagner went 3-for-15 for 10 points.
Lewis had 16 points, Payton 15 and Drobnjak 11 in the first half to help Seattle take a 63-47 lead.
Jones scored 11 points in the third quarter for Cleveland, but the Cavs trailed 84-70 entering the fourth.