SAN ANTONIO ? The San Antonio Spurs sure could have used David Robinson.

The Seattle SuperSonics used strong inside play from Vin Baker and Rashard Lewis to beat San Antonio 98-90 Monday night and even their best-of-five playoff series at one game apiece.

tim duncan goes to the basket over Seattle forward Rashard Lewis during the first quarter of Monday's game.

Gary Payton led Seattle with 21 points, and Lewis had 19. Baker had 15 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter, and Desmond Mason scored 15. Payton also grabbed 11 rebounds.

“You see when we play a full and complete game how things can happen,” Payton said. “They had the momentum in the first quarter and got a big lead. We settled down and we got momentum in the next three quarters.”

Robinson didn’t play because of a lower-back injury that forced him to miss the last three games of the regular season. The 7-foot-1 center started Game 1 against Seattle but left in the first quarter when his back tightened up. San Antonio won easily anyway by blitzing the Sonics in the second half.

Playing Game 2 without his frontcourt running mate, Tim Duncan led all scorers with 32 points and 12 rebounds. Steve Smith had 16 points, Tony Parker added 13 and Bruce Bowen 11 for San Antonio.

The Spurs went the last 5:25 without a field goal, and they were outrebounded 13-7 in the fourth quarter.

“They killed us on the glass,” guard Antonio Daniels said. “The biggest difference was the way they rebounded the basketball. We gave them second and third chances.”

Duncan said Robinson’s absence was no excuse for the letdown.

“He’s not here, so the guys that are here … it’s up to us to get it done,” he said. “And we will find a way to get it done.”

Game 3 will be played in Seattle on Saturday.

Baker scored seven points in the third quarter, and Jerome James made a pair of key baskets late in the period as Seattle turned a two-point deficit into a two-point lead going into the final 12 minutes.

Bowen started the fourth with his third 3-pointer of the game to put the Spurs up by one, but the Sonics went on a 10-2 run to go ahead 83-76 with about eight minutes remaining.

Lewis, who missed the last 10 games of the regular season with an ankle injury, said the Sonics knew they needed to avoid falling behind 2-0.

“We really wanted to win this game,” he said.