The associated press reports: Seattle guard Joe Forte was charged with possession of marijuana and a gun.

Forte was pulled over for speeding when a trooper smelled what he thought was marijuana.

20.6 grams of marijuana were found along with a .22 caliber pistol.

Forte has a trial date for July 10th.

It took three months, three days and a very difficult game against the Utah Jazz, but the Seattle SuperSonics are finally back to .500.

With a riveting 82-80 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night at KeyArena, the Sonics evened their record for the first time since Jan. 3 and stayed in the running for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot, tenuous as their position may be.

With Phoenix's 115-113 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Sonics (38-38) cut their deficit to two games behind the Suns (40-36) with six to play. Houston (40-37) is a half-game behind Phoenix. Any combination of four Suns victories or Seattle losses eliminates the Sonics from the playoff race.

Reggie Evans' arm was curled around the basketball, his eyes on the referee as he called the timeout.

But it was Evans' finger that found the pulse coach Nate McMillan wants the Sonics to play with when he dove below Karl Malone for a turnover with 10 seconds left in the Sonics' 82-80 victory over the Jazz at KeyArena.

No word if Nate McMillan contacted Tony Robbins or sought advice from Dr. Phil, but the Sonics' coach sounded like a self-help guru before last night's final regular-season meeting with the Utah Jazz.

He told those assembled in his office beneath KeyArena that he wasn't going to gripe about Utah's physical tactics like he did the last time he faced the Jazz, which netted him a hefty fine from the NBA.

Hold the confetti. Save the whoopin' and hollerin' for now. Don't honk those horns just yet.

Because, for a second straight game, the Jazz teased everyone into thinking they would somehow take care of business, only to prove again it was not to be.
     
As a result, for the second time in a row, the franchise that has become a fixture in the postseason failed to clinch its 20th consecutive appearance in the NBA playoffs.

Maybe clinching is overrated.
   
The Jazz seem to enjoy the drama of the chase, the intensity of the photo-finish finale. Best to wait until the last page to see how it all comes out.
   
That's how their games are coming out lately, and it's beginning to look like that's how their season is going to end up, too.
   
A good start and a fabulous finish drew out the drama on Sunday, but Matt Harpring's potential game-winner fell "half an inch" short, he said, and the Jazz again failed to clinch a playoff spot by losing to the Sonics, 82-80 in Key Arena.

Who knows what John Stockton wished when the Utah Jazz guard blew out the candles on his 41st birthday cake in March, but across the league there's a common want.

"Go away," Sonics Coach Nate McMillan teased of Stockton, who has teamed with Karl Malone as a formidable duo over the past two decades. "I wouldn't miss them. It's the greatest duo, the best I've seen since playing. I don't know of another twosome like them."

Stockton and Malone will return to KeyArena to face the Sonics at 6 tonight. But hold off on any farewell plans. Both Stockton and Malone have said they'll wait until after the season to make that decision.

"I love to play," Stockton said. "If it wasn't here, it'd be on the driveway with the kids."