NBA ROUNDUP Thursday's games

SuperSonics 97, Raptors 88
SEATTLE -- Gary Payton scored 35 points -- including 10 in row to help Seattle take a comfortable lead -- and the SuperSonics snapped an excruciating four-game losing streak with a win over reeling Toronto. After Toronto went on a 14-2 run to cut Seattle's lead to 63-62 with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter, Payton took over and scored the final eight points of the period and the first basket of the fourth. The Raptors, still playing without injured Vince Carter and Antonio Davis, were led by Voshon Lenard with 27 points and Morris Peterson with 22. Toronto has lost four in a row and eight of its last nine games. Rashard Lewis chipped in with 20 points for Seattle, which lost those four games by a combined seven points. The final three defeats were on game-winning shots in the final two seconds.
Mavericks 83, Hornets 81
NEW ORLEANS -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points, and the Dallas defense was again good enough to overcome one of its lowest-scoring outputs of the season. The Mavericks, who came into the game scoring a league-high average of 103.5 points, shot 37.8 percent and failed to surpass 92 points for the fourth-straight game. Dallas has lost only one game during that stretch. Nowitzki hit a turnaround to give Dallas an 80-79 lead with just over three minutes left, and the Mavericks held on from there, helped by New Orleans' sudden cold spell to close the game. The Hornets, who committed an uncharacteristically high 18 turnovers, gave the ball away twice in the final three minutes. Still, David Wesley, who had 24 points, missed a pair of long jump shots that could have given New Orleans a late lead.
Pistons 87, Wizards 82
WASHINGTON -- Richard Hamilton scored 22 points in his return to Washington, and the Detroit Pistons turned up the defense in the second half to beat the Wizards. The Pistons ended a two-game skid by rallying from an eight-point halftime deficit, holding the Wizards to just 33 points over the final 24 minutes. Hamilton starred in Washington for two years before being sent to Detroit in the trade that brought Jerry Stackhouse to the Wizards. Stackhouse led the Wizards with 24 points, and Michael Jordan added 17 on 7-for-17 shooting.