Seattle snaps 11-game skid

During any lull in the action, the chant of “Save Our Sonics!” began its crescendo, until it seemed the entire building was chanting at times.

Timeouts, dead balls, it didn’t matter. Even during free throws, as Seattle’s Kevin Durant found out.

“Messed me up a little bit,” Durant said. “But I heard them and that’s something I love. The crowd was into it tonight and that shows they’re going to stick behind us.”

Durant scored 23 points and the SuperSonics snapped their 11-game losing streak with a 97-84 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

But the overwhelming tone of this night was the future of the Sonics and the potential end of the I-5 rivalry with the Blazers.

With Sonics owner Clay Bennett pressing to move his team to Oklahoma City as early as next season, Monday night may have been the final time the longtime rivals faced off just 180 miles apart. The series started in 1970 and the Sonics hold a 98-94 lead.