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.