Got to pay homage to Earl Watson's big night. No Sonics player has had a triple double since Ray Allen did it in Jan. 28, 2004 against the Los Angeles Lakers. No Sonics point guard has accomplished the feat since Gary Payton in 2002.

Watson was special tonight and some of us should remember this game when we're trying to run the guy out of town.

Ironically, this is the kind of performance that will get Watson traded. It's the kind of statement game that other general managers will notice. I don't know if Watson is the missing piece to a championship puzzle, but Boston and Cleveland are looking for experienced point guards. This story obviously won't end until after the Feb. 21 trade deadline.

It must be noted that Watson's triple double came against the seventh-worst defense in the NBA that was without Brad Miller. Still, Mike Bibby is quality point guard and Quincy Douby and Francisco Garcia are serviceable backups. But all of them were torched by Watson who sank 9 of 12 shots for 23 points, including three three-pointers. He also had 10 assists and 10 rebounds to offset four turnovers in 32:28 minutes.

The Sonics converted 52.6 percnet of its shots held Sacramento to 36.7 percent shooting. Seattle has held four of the past five opponents under 100 points and it has scored 100 or more in three of the past four games.

Most of the starters were fantastic. Chris Wilcox (15 points and 10 rebounds) notched his 12th double double, Kevin Durant (17 points on 6-for-12 shooting) was efficient and Kurt Thomas (13 points and 8 rebounds) and Nick Collison (13 points and 6 rebounds) provided the muscle in the middle against and makeshift Sacramento lineup.

Watson, however, is the story of the night. Coach P.J. Carlesimo lavished the point guard with tremendous praise, but he left the door open for a possible change in the lineup in the future. He said he still wants to take a look at combinations in the final games and didn't say that Watson was going to be his starter for the remainder of the season.

Here's a list of the Sonics with triple doubles
Gary Payton 16
Lenny Wilken 10
Nate McMillan 4
Slick Watts 4
Jack Sikma 3
Ray Allen 2
Jim Fox 2
Leonard Gray 1
Shawn Kemp 1
Lonnie Shelton 1
Gus Williams 1
Lee Winfield 1