Sonics' surge has them back in chase Jayda Evans, Seattle Times staff reporter He clasped his fiancee's hand as they strolled down a KeyArena hallway Sunday night. Normally Sonics guard Ray Allen doesn't have it this easy — exiting his team's locker room shortly after a victory and nearly escaping untouched by the media's questions. Like shot clocks and officials, talking to Allen after a game is usually a given. Because he has been the one carrying the team. Or, while nursing his right ankle back to health, he was perceived to be the missing piece the Sonics needed to win. But couple guard Brent Barry and Allen together — healthy — and suddenly the media has a smorgasbord of players to speak with, leaving Allen to stroll home early. "I thought you all didn't need me," he said when asked if he would talk about his game-high 22 points in the Sonics' win over Orlando on Sunday. "I didn't see anybody." Nope, with returned playoff hopes, an emerging center in Vitaly Potapenko and Barry playing like an All-Star despite his fingers tweaking left and right, not everything is dependent on Allen, the All-Star captain. It's just another sign of the Sonics' recent turnaround. After losing six consecutive games earlier this month, the Sonics have rattled off a season-high five-game win streak. Now, the once- lowly teamis mentioned with headliners like Detroit (eight straight wins), the Los Angeles Lakers (five) and Miami (five) as the hottest teams in the league. OK, Miami isn't a headliner. But they've sneaked into the sixth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. And the Sonics (32-38) are trying to win the eighth and final seed in the West. Not since January have the words "hot" and "Sonics" been used in the same sentence. Then, the Sonics had won eight of 11 games going back to December, scored more than 100 points in four consecutive games, and Allen was chosen as Western Conference player of the week. The Sonics have scored 100 points or more just twice in their past 15 games, but the team's margin of victory during the win streak is an average of 10.6 points. But the sting of losing in the past has sedated the Sonics, causing them not to get ahead of themselves. "This feels great," Allen said. "I've always said every loss can be like a plague, it keeps happening. Winning is like the plague, too, where once it happens a few times it keeps building. Obviously you want to win, and it becomes contagious. This has been a good stretch of good basketball. We've got to take it and run." The playoffs are a feasible goal, with the Sonics only four games behind the eighth-seeded Utah Jazz with 12 games remaining. The Sonics host the Jazz (36-34) tomorrow, but have already dropped the four-game series, losing the previous three games this season. That means the Jazz would win a tiebreaker. The Sonics can't afford many losses as they chase the Jazz, Portland (35-35) and Denver (37-35) — in a virtual tie with Utah — who are also ahead of Seattle in the standings. If the Sonics were to advance to the postseason, it would be the first time since the 2001-02 season. And it won't be easy. Eleven of the Sonics' final games are against conference opponents. The Sonics are 18-23 against the West. "We went through a tough stretch there where it was tough on all of us, but we didn't give up," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "We got some guys healthy, we put this lineup together and we've been playing some good basketball." Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or [email protected] Copyright (c) 2004 The Seattle Times Company --

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