An injury to the team's franchise player overshadowed a nice win by the SuperSonics.

Wally Szczerbiak and rookie Jeff Green each scored 18 points, and Seattle overcame the loss of Kevin Durant to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-90 on Saturday night.

The Sonics played the final three quarters without Durant, their leading scorer. The second pick in the 2007 draft, who is averaging 20.2 points, sprained his left index finger near the end of the first period. X-rays were negative, but Seattle held Durant out as a precaution.

With 9.2 seconds left in the first period, he came off the floor to the Sonics' bench holding his hands together.

"I just ran into somebody and sprained my finger. It was kind of hurting more than it usually does," Durant said. "I hit it in every game and the pain usually stops, but tonight it started throbbing and swelling up a little bit. I wanted to play, but our trainer just wanted me to sit out for the rest of the game."

Brandon Roy scored 22 points despite not playing the second quarter, and the Portland Trail Blazers got their league-leading 12th straight victory Friday night by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-98.

The streak matches Portland's best run since winning 12 in a row during the 2001-02 season, the team's second-longest stretch. Portland's longest streak was 16 games in the 1990-91 season.

Minnesota Timberwolves' center Theo Ratliff underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday and is expected to miss another six weeks.

Dr. James R. Andrews of the Alabama Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama, performed the operation.

A sprained left ankle kept Timberwolves' forward Antoine Walker out Monday night, but it didn't stop him from taking a few not-so-subtle shots at his former coach.

Walker said he had reached a breaking point with Heat Coach Pat Riley over conditioning demands during his final days with the team and welcomed the Oct. 24 trade, in which Walker, Michael Doleac, Wayne Simien and a first-round draft pick were dealt for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount.

Walker had repeatedly failed to meet the Heat's strict body-fat percentage mandates during his two seasons in Miami, which included the team's run to a 2006 NBA title.

"It was better for me to leave," Walker said before Monday's game. "Riles kept my name in the papers for something negative, and it was a back-and-forth thing over body-fat. I was getting tired of that."

"Regardless if I was here or not, it hasn't improved," he said. "The team ain't built around Antoine Walker. You've got to keep the truth somewhere in the middle. I was a piece of the puzzle. The truth's got to be told."

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Thursday that center Theo Ratliff will undergo exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Tuesday, Dec. 18. Dr. James R. Andrews of the Alabama Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Ala., will perform the operation. Due to the exploratory nature of the procedure, a timetable for his return will be established following the operation.

Ratliff, acquired via trade from the Boston Celtics on July 31, 2007, has appeared in six games for the Wolves this season, averaging 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game. The 12-year NBA veteran has missed the last 13 games due to soreness in his right knee.

Minnesota Timberwolves' guard Randy Foye could miss another three to four weeks because his injured left knee is healing slowly, General Manager Jim Stack said today.

Stack emphasized that the stress reaction in Foye's kneecap is healing properly, but he acknowledged that the news was disappointing because Foye felt like he was ready to resume all basketball activities.

Minnesota Timberwolves' Coach Randy Wittman returned to practice following back surgery and is to work Tuesday night's game against Washington.

He was on the team flight to Washington, Timberwolves' spokesman Mike Cristaldi said Monday.

Wittman missed three games, with Assistant Coach Jerry Sichting going 1-2 in his place. That included a surprise victory Saturday over the Phoenix Suns.

Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers both came down with stomach illness while in Minnesota on Tuesday to face the Timberwolves.

Bryant remained in the starting lineup, but Bynum did not dress after spending some time during the day at a Minneapolis hospital to receive IV fluids.

"I don't think it's life-threatening," Lakers' Coach Phil Jackson deadpanned.

Minnesota Timberwolves' Coach Randy Wittman is preparing for back surgery and will miss Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Wittman is scheduled to have surgery Wednesday, and the team says it's unclear when he will resume his duties. Assistant coach Jerry Sichting will be in charge of the Wolves in Wittman's absence.

In a news release, Wittman says his condition has been getting worse and that doctors advised him to have the surgery as soon as possible so that he can coach for the rest of the season.