Durant out for two games; Warriors beat Sonics in OT

Sure these are just exhibitions, but with the losses mounting and the starting lineup still undefined, Tuesday's game against Golden State at KeyArena felt more important than just another exhibition game.

And when rookie Kevin Durant left with a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter, the importance of this game was raised to yet another level.

Durant, who underwent X-rays, won't play in tonight's game in Portland nor in the final exhibition game Friday against Phoenix in Vancouver.

"He'll be all right," Sonics forward Chris Wilcox said. "He's tough. He said it wasn't that serious. Hopefully it wasn't that serious and we'll get him back before the regular season."

For three quarters, Seattle appeared as if it would cruise to an easy victory when it led by nine early in the fourth quarter. However, powered by a corps of reserves, the Warriors erased their deficit and handed the Sonics a 126-122 overtime loss.

Only winless Miami has a worse record than Seattle, which fell to 1-5. Golden State improved to 3-2.

Coach P.J. Carlesimo had hoped a tweak in the starting lineup would halt the string of losses. He inserted Nick Collison at center and the change produced positive results early as Seattle led 68-61 at halftime and 93-84 with 10:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

"Me and Nick are just more comfortable with each other than the other guys," said Wilcox, who finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds. "Because the young guys are still learning, guys like Nick and Kurt [Thomas] are more mature. Those guys know the game compared to Johan [Petro] and those guys. Not taking anything away from Johan, but they don't get the feel like a veteran who has played the game for a number of years."

The combination of Wilcox and Collison, who had nine rebounds, combined with a big scoring night from Damien Wilkins (27 points), Wally Szczerbiak (24) and Durant (21) allowed Seattle to keep control of the game until the end. The seesaw battle continued until the buzzer, which kept the crowd of 9,861 on the edge of their seats.

Even without their scoring leader, the Sonics had a chance at victory with Szczerbiak, a career 86.4 percent free-throw shooter, on the line with the score tied 113-113 with 25.3 seconds left in regulation.

Szczerbiak, however, missed the foul shot.

"I can't be doing that as an 85-90 percent shooter," he said. "Hopefully I can make it next time."

On the ensuing possession, Earl Watson forced yet anoth

er Golden State turnover as the clock expired. The Warriors finished with 27 turnovers, which led to 36 points. Matt Barnes scored 16 points, which led eight Warriors who scored in double figures.

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com

Sonics summary

GOLDEN STATE — Azubuike 4-10 2-2 10, Pietrus 3-7 2-2 9, Biedrins 4-7 3-4 11, Ellis 6-11 3-4 15, Davis 4-14 5-6 14, O'Bryant 0-0 0-0 0, Harrington 5-7 0-0 10, Croshere 5-11 1-1 12, Barnes 5-12 3-4 16, Hudson 4-9 1-1 9, Lasme 1-1 1-2 3, Belinelli 3-7 4-5 10, Wright 3-4 1-2 7, Totals 47-100 26-33 126.

SEATTLE — Wilkins 10-22 3-3 27, Wilcox 10-15 2-2 22, Collison 2-8 1-2 5, Durant 7-17 5-7 21, Watson 3-9 2-2 8, Green 1-7 3-7 5, Ridnour 1-7 4-4 6, Szczerbiak 8-16 6-7 24, K. Thomas 1-4 2-2 4, Totals 43-105 28-36 122.

Golden State	31 30 18 34 13 — 126
Seattle	26 42 19 26 9 — 122

Three-point goals — Golden State 6-20 (Barnes 3-5, Pietrus 1-1, Croshere 1-3, Davis 1-6, Harrington 0-1, Azubuike 0-1, Belinelli 0-1, Hudson 0-2), Seattle 8-19 (Wilkins 4-7, Durant 2-6, Szczerbiak 2-6). Fouled out — Pietrus. Rebounds — Golden State 54 (Biedrins 11), Seattle 58 (Wilcox 12). Assists — Golden State 22 (Davis 7), Seattle 29 (Watson 14). Total fouls — Golden State 29, Seattle 31. Technicals — Golden State defensive three second, Seattle defensive three second. A — 9,861 (17,072).