Sonics still reaching

Life was going to be easier once Rashard Lewis felt healthy enough to exchange his designer loafers for Nike sneakers and return to the court. That's what the Sonics repeated to themselves during their recent losing streak.

Their words, however, provided cold comfort for a team once considered a contender to advance to the NBA Finals.

Still, the Sonics believed Lewis — returning from a right-foot contusion that caused him to miss eight games — would lead them back to prosperity. For three quarters last night, he justified their faith in him.

The Sonics ran with the streaking Dallas Mavericks, who had won 11 of their previous 13 games, before succumbing to last-minute surge and falling 95-90 last night before a crowd of 16,502 at KeyArena.

For a sixth straight game, the Sonics (50-28) failed to clinch the inaugural Northwest Division title, and their lead over Denver decreased to three games with four remaining for both teams.

"I felt like we were going to win this game and honestly, I haven't felt like that in a long time," said Danny Fortson, who missed the two previous games because of a bruised left shoulder. "We could have won and should have won. ... If nothing else, it felt good to get back to playing our style of ball."

"We were right there and we would come up with an empty trip on the offensive end," coach Nate McMillan said. "You're right there. We got enough stops. ... On the last play, we didn't get a hit on (Jason) Terry and he was able to stay with the ball, and we just didn't do a good job of executing."

Antonio Daniels, who returned from a three-game absence brought on by a left-knee injury, tied the score at 87-87 with a driving layup with 90 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing possession, Ray Allen could have tied the score with 58.6 seconds left, but missed the first of two free throws.

Dallas (54-24) extended its lead to 91-88 seconds later after Terry, a Seattle native, drained a baseline jumper with 47.7 seconds left.

"Throughout stretches in the game, somebody is gonna step up, make shots," Terry said. "Our big things is defense. We live and die with defense.

"I know that people think Dallas Mavericks and they are thinking run-and-gun, but now with (coach Avery Johnson) at the helm, he's really preaching defense, and everybody has bought into that."

Daniels misfired on a midrange jumper, and Dirk Nowitzki — with Lewis in his face — secured the victory for Dallas with a fadeaway jumper.

"Dirk is a tough matchup because you're talking about someone who's 7 feet tall and can shoot like a guard," said Damien Wilkins, who took turns with Lewis defending Nowitzki. "He got a good look with a hand in his face and knocked it down."

The Sonics outrebounded Dallas 45-30, but converted just 28 percent (7 for 25) of their threes.

Lewis, perhaps rusty from the layoff, missed six of seven three-point attempts, Luke Ridnour missed four of five, and Allen sank just two of his six.

"He looked like he was winded," McMillan said of Lewis. "I thought at the end he was moving a little slow getting to his spots offensively. But that's to be expected coming back after being off for so long."

Lewis managed just 12 points and four rebounds, but his presence took pressure off of Allen, who finished with 19 points.

"We were able to go back to our old ways," McMillan said. "Give Rashard some drops in the post. Space the floor. We had a lineup out there that that we were pretty comfortable with, with Rashard being at the four. Jerome (James), AD, Ray and Damien was able to knock down some shots."

Still, had it not been for Daniels (17 points) and James, who tallied all 10 of his points in the third quarter, the Sonics would not have stayed close.

"It sucks, it hurts, but at least you can see we're coming along," Fortson said. "Not like before when it just felt terrible and hopeless."

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