Derek Harper scored eight points in the final two minutes and Shaquille O’Neal had 31 as Los Angeles won its sixth straight game.
Harper’s three-pointer with 38 seconds remaining put the Lakers up 102-100, and a free throw by O’Neal was the only scoring afterward.
Gary Payton had 34 points and 11 assists, but he, Vin Baker and Hersey Hawkins all missed shots in the last half-minute, with Hawkins’ three-point try just short as time expired.
O’Neal had 11 rebounds for the Lakers, and Kobe Bryant scored 20 points. Dennis Rodman had six rebounds in 26 minutes, the first time in his five games with the Lakers that he did not reach double digits.
Dale Ellis had 20 points for Seattle.
The SuperSonics beat the Lakers 92-89 in Seattle on Feb. 21, the first of three consecutive Los Angeles losses that led to the firing of coach Del Harris.
The Lakers haven’t lost since. They promoted assistant Kurt Rambis to coach and added Rodman five games ago.
Rodman, whose only known work-related lapse since he joined the team was being late to practice after his first game, drew his first technical as a Laker after having words with referee Jack Nies late in the second quarter.
