The Sonics flirted with perfection by making basket after basket in the second quarter as if the rim was as wide as the paint.

But Seattle has been an up-and-down team all season. So it wasn't surprising that the remarkable display of accuracy turned into ice-cold shooting that allowed Golden State to come back.

And the Sonics needed every bit of their 90.9 percent shooting from the second quarter just to take the game to overtime in a stirring 111-108 victory last night at the Arena in Oakland.

"Things came easy for us (in the second quarter)," said Coach Nate McMillan, whose team won its third straight to improve to 13-15. "The Warriors made an unbelievable effort the last 24 minutes and may have worn down. But I think the biggest thing is we made plays in that overtime to win the game."

With the Sonics up 107-106, Gary Payton missed on a drive. But Rashard Lewis grabbed the rebound to lay it up for a 109-106 lead with 13 seconds left.

The Warriors scored on their next possession but were forced to foul Payton, who made two free throws to put Seattle up 111-108 with 4.5 seconds left. And the Warriors missed a desperation three-pointer to end the game.

With the score tied at 104, Payton missed a layup that Vin Baker grabbed and shot, missing badly. But Baker recovered his miss and converted it as he was fouled.

While Baker's teammates celebrated, Baker's face bore a look of anguish. He pulled ligaments in his right thumb on the play, and went into the locker room for treatment instead of taking the free throw.

Baker will be X-rayed today to determine the severity of the injury.

Art Long replaced Baker, and made the free throw to give Seattle a 107-104 lead.

The Warriors tied the game at 96-96 late in the fourth quarter after Jason Richardson stole an inbounds pass from Brent Barry near half court. Richardson was fouled by Desmond Mason, and made the layup as the crowd of 12,129 erupted.

The Sonics had a chance to win in regulation. But Lewis missed an open jumper and Barry missed a follow-up before the buzzer.

"They got more aggressive," Payton said of the Warriors, who outrebounded Seattle 54-41. "They were getting a lot of steals. They came out like a team is supposed to when they're down 22 points. They made things happen and we cooled off."

Golden State stayed in the game in the third quarter after the Sonics went halfway through the period without scoring a field goal. Seattle missed seven field goals before Lewis made a short jumper that put Seattle up 74-57.

"I knew we wouldn't continue to shoot as well in the second half," McMillan said.

The Sonics led 71-49 at halftime after making 20 of 22 field goals in the second quarter. The Sonics made 14 straight field goals in the period.

The Sonics missed just two shots in the second quarter, tying a team record for most field goals in a quarter: 20.

Assistant Coach Bob Weiss was keeping track of Seattle's offensive onslaught but the players weren't aware of the specifics.

"We weren't thinking about that," said Payton, who had 20 points and 12 assists. "We were just playing. We did cool off so it didn't make any difference."

Although the Sonics won, an overtime game was the last thing they needed. The Sonics play the Pistons tonight at KeyArena. And Seattle is 0-8 in the second of back-to-back games.

"We had to win the game," McMillan said.

"It took overtime to win the game. I'd much rather get this game and worry about tomorrow night's game than lose this game and worry about tomorrow night's game."