They performed flashy dunks. They laughed at inside jokes.

They were whipping the Sonics by 20 points.

And to make it worse: They were scrubs.

Playing punch line to a bad joke, the Sonics were humiliated by the Los Angeles Clippers' bench in the waning minutes of an already miserable 114-94 loss Dec. 12 at the Staples Center.

Things were so bad Clippers Coach Alvin Gentry apologized to Sonics Coach Nate McMillan for his youthful team's exuberant play.

But as far as McMillan was concerned, that's what his team gets for the way it played.

Rested from the holiday break and riding a four-game winning streak, the third best in the league, the Sonics hope tonight's game is payback. This time it's the Clippers (15-11) who will be weary from back-to-back games instead of the Sonics, who were wrapping up a three-game trip when they lost to the Clippers, including a victory over the Lakers.

"In our eyes it is revenge," said Desmond Mason, who didn't play in the last meeting because of a right knee injury. "It's embarrassing when a team gets you down to the point where they can laugh and joke while playing. We had to watch it again on videotape, and it's just embarrassing."

Unlike past years, the Clippers aren't the dark hole of the NBA. The Generation X team led by forward Elton Brand's 19.7 points and 11.0 rebounds was on a three-game winning streak heading into last night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers and has every right to think playoffs even after finishing 31-51 last season.

"There's nobody that can just show up and beat the Clippers now," said guard Gary Payton, who was named NBA Player of the Week. "They've always had talent but didn't play together. Now they have a lot of young talent and like to play together."

The Sonics (14-15) are just learning what it feels like to win with the inexperienced players on their roster. Seattle defeated the Detroit Pistons on Saturday for its fourth consecutive victory, recording season highs in margin of victory (28) and field-goal percentage (60.5).

Forward Vin Baker missed the game with a slight tear in his right thumb, a different injury than the left thumb in 1998-99. He practiced yesterday with a makeshift brace but said it caused problems shooting, such as when he missed two free throws during a drill and the entire team had to run. Yet, fans can expect to see him in the lineup tonight.

"I want to play," said Baker, who had his bulky, bandaged hand in ice. "One thing is that I could possibly completely tear (the ligament), but I'm not really worried about it. I had some pain at practice and it's not completely healed, but I'm going to play through it."

Baker could start. Rookie Vladimir Radmanovic is listed to start for the Sonics, but he missed most of yesterday's practice after getting knocked in the head during one-on-one drills. That was after landing headfirst on the court after a two-handed dunk went haywire in Saturday's game.

McMillan said Radmanovic was fine through the weekend, but after he was hit yesterday, he was sent to see a doctor as a precaution.

"He was a little blurry, so we sent him," McMillan said.

Both centers Calvin Booth (sprained right ankle) and Jerome James (sprained right foot) practiced, but neither is expected back soon. Booth, who signed a six-year, $34 million contract in the offseason, has missed 13 games because of injuries this season, and James has missed 18 games.

"They're not where we want them to be as far as health," McMillan said. "They were able to scrimmage, which is a good sign, but you can see they're not even close to 100 percent."