The Sonics received good news before the opening tipoff, adding to their apparent edge of being well-rested against the Sacramento Kings: Chris Webber missed the trip because of tendinitis in his left ankle.

But the catch in Webber's absence is that the Kings had sprinted to one of the league's top records ? and the best start in franchise history ? mostly without the superstar.

Sacramento has remained an elite team by utilizing the fast break and scoring easy baskets in a halfcourt set. But last night, the Sonics defeated Sacramento at its own game, scoring with the greatest of ease for a 104-92 victory at KeyArena.

"They are a loose team and a very good basketball team even without Webber," said Vin Baker who had 16 points (on 7-for-12 shooting) and nine rebounds. "You've got to pay attention to them like they are one of the elite teams if he's not in there.

"We didn't take it for granted that their star player wasn't there. We played them just as tough."

Few teams can keep up with the Kings when it comes to run-and-gun hoops. But one of those opponents is the young, athletic Sonics, who shot a season-best 53.8 percent by pushing the ball for layins and swinging it around for open looks.

The Kings like to clog the middle in a quasi-zone, which prevents drives in a halfcourt set. But Seattle made it a costly tactic with sizzling three-point shooting: Brent Barry led the barrage by swishing 5 of 7 three-pointers as the Sonics shot 60 percent from beyond the arc.

Seattle (12-15) travels to Oakland tomorrow to play the Golden State Warriors. It's the Sonics' only road game over the next 16 days. And Seattle is poised to reach .500 if it can exploit a favorable schedule.

"They played extremely well," Kings guard Bobby Jackson said. "They did the little things, and we didn't. Just because their record is below .500 doesn't mean they're not a good team. They've beat a lot of great teams, including us."

Barry said: "We're focused on the rest of the games this month. This team had a goal in mind, and we have to keep coming out and playing like it."

The Sonics were at their fast-break best in the third quarter to take an 82-68 lead. Some of Seattle's baskets came in a flash. After a Kings miss late, Barry threw a perfect lead pass to Rashard Lewis for an emphatic, two-handed slam, which gave Seattle a 76-63 lead.

The Sonics also pushed the ball because they had to: On Seattle's final possession of the third quarter, Gary Payton received an inbound pass with less than 4 seconds left.

Payton dribbled the length of the court and drew two defenders near the free-throw line before passing to Lewis, who swished a midrange jumper as the buzzer sounded.

It might as well have been the sound effect for taking the wind out of the Kings.

Webber's replacement, Scot Pollard, left in the third quarter with a bruised left shin. And the fourth quarter became a formality after Vlade Divac was forced out with a sprained right ankle.

After Seattle's arduous schedule, replete with back-to-backs, it's now Seattle's turn to await well-traveled teams.

"You see what happens with the back-to-back," said Payton, who had 27 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. "It doesn't matter if you're a good team or not if you're tired. So we were taking advantage of what we were given."

Tuesday night, Webber had 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Kings over the Pistons. But he suffered the same tendinitis in his right ankle that forced him to miss the first 20 games.

With Sacramento ? 6-6 on the road ? playing its second game in 24 hours, the inclination is to conduct a track meet. But the danger was that Sacramento relishes that style regardless of the circumstance.

"Our game plan was pretty much the same," said Coach Nate McMillan, whose team outrebounded the Kings 47-33. "The biggest key was taking away their transition, of slowing them down."

And one way to do so is shooting with accuracy. The Sonics shot 56.4 percent in the first half, including 7 of 9 from three-point range. But Seattle's lead was only 52-46 at the break as the Kings exploited 11 Sonics turnovers.

Before Webber made his season debut two weeks ago, the Kings were 15-5 for the best start since the club was based in Rochester and was named the Royals.