Sonics vs. Suns: June 1, 1993
Western Conference Finals Game 5
One of the games that defines Charles Barkley’s career came against the Sonics. He had a 43-point triple-double to lead Phoenix to a 120-114 win over Seattle in Game 5.
Barkley battled Shawn Kemp, who put up 33 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.
Ricky Pierce had 27 points and Gary Payton had 20 points with eight assists.
Setting the stage: This was still a young version of the Payton and Kemp Sonics team, but the Sonics went 55-27 and lost the tiebreaker to the Houston Rockets to get the third seed in the Western Conference.
Kemp was 23 and Payton was 24, but those two and Pierce led Seattle over the Utah Jazz in the first round and the Rockets in the second, a series that again ended in an overtime victory.
In the conference finals, the Sonics were tasked with facing the NBA’s Most Valuable Player that season in Barkley. In this Game 5, Suns wing Dan Majerle scored 34 points and point guard Kevin Johnson had 13 points and 10 assists.
Phoenix took a 3-2 lead, and, unlike 14 years prior, the Sonics were unable to come back.
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