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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The Portland Trail Blazers were waiting around for somebody to take control, and little-known Bonzi Wells
was more than happy to oblige.
Wells scored 13 of his career-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, and Brian Grant's dunk with 31.5 seconds left helped the Portland Trail Blazers rally to beat the Phoenix Suns 96-91 on Saturday night.
"I wanted to bring us some energy and some scoring. That's what
I did," said Wells, a second-year forward who is quickly emerging
as a star on one of the NBA's most talented teams. "I was just
trying to get to the hole and create something."
Wells, 23, barely played during his rookie season out of Ball
State, but showed promise early this season, averaging 6.6 points
relieving newly acquired shooting guard Steve Smith. Then he missed 14 games with a sprained left knee, but has continued to improve
since coming off the injured list Dec. 20.
He not only played well Friday night, he was virtually
unstoppable in the fourth quarter, when the Blazers got down by 10.
Todd Day's 3-pointer put the Suns ahead 76-66 with 9:47 left,
but the Blazers started getting the ball inside to Wells, and he
rarely missed. He hit six layups in the final eight minutes,
including one to put the Blazers ahead 90-89 with 1:41 to go.
"We were struggling offensively, but he came in, was explosive and got us scoring and gave us a chance to win," teammate Detlef Schrempf said.
A 20-foot jumper by Rex Chapman gave the Suns the lead, but
Grant's dunk put Portland up 92-91. After Schrempf hit two free
throws to make it 94-91 with 15.8 seconds left, Chapman went up for
the tying 3-pointer but was stripped by Scottie Pippen, who got an
easy breakaway dunk to seal it.
"We didn't get help on defending Bonzi," said Suns coach Scott
Skiles, whose team dropped to 6-6 since he replaced Danny Ainge on
Dec. 13. "We just couldn't defend him. He just got it going in the
fourth, and we couldn't do anything to stop him."
Chapman led the Suns with 20 points, and Jason Kidd had 13 points and 14 assists.
Brian Grant had 21 points and 11 rebounds in 39 minutes, his most since recovering from offseason knee surgery. Grant and Wells
did most of the dirty work inside while Arvydas Sabonis missed his
second game with the flu.
"I started to feel like I did last year," Grant said. "I just
hope there are some minutes for me when Sabas comes back."
Pippen finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Damon Stoudamire added 13 before he was knocked out of the game by Tom Gugliotta's hard screen in the third quarter. Stoudamire sustained a mild concussion on the play, the team said.
Gugliotta, returning to Portland for the first time since
suffering a seizure on the team bus at the Rose Garden on Dec. 17,
had 13 points and nine rebounds.
The Blazers led 12-2, but Phoenix started hitting from the
outside and pulled ahead. Kidd, Chapman and Day all hit long
jumpers during a 10-1 run to end the first half and put the Suns up
47-35.
Frustrated by their own mistakes, the Blazers could barely
contain their anger in the third quarter. After Stoudamire scored
11 points in the first 6½ minutes to cut the lead to 59-53, he was
flattened by Gugliotta on a backcourt pick.
Rasheed Wallace, argumentative all game, shouted and flailed his arms at the referee and was hit with a technical. The intensity
caught on with Wallace's teammates, and a layup by Wells pulled the
Blazers within five at 66-61.
The Blazers, who missed nine of their first 18 free throws, sank
four straight to enter the fourth quarter down 68-65.
Wallace fouled out with eight points, breaking his streak of 26
straight games in double figures.
Game notes
Six Blazers are now wearing headbands, just like Clifford
Robinson used to when he played in Portland. ... The Blazers are
holding opponents to 88.9 points per game, the lowest average in
the NBA. ... The Suns are 8-9 without injured Penny Hardaway and
11-4 with him in the lineup. ... Robinson, who had 12 points, is
averaging 22.4 points over his last 18 games. ... A rare Portland
celebrity sighting: Musician Robbie Robertson was Blazers owner
Paul Allen's guest at courtside.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Phoenix Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 110
Detroit 105
New Jersey 90
Miami 89
Cleveland 89
New York 86
Dallas 95
Atlanta 85
Chicago 96
Boston 79
Utah 103
Houston 87
San Antonio 127
Orlando 92
Denver 97
Charlotte 92
Milwaukee 130
Washington 129
Portland 96
Phoenix 91
LA Lakers 110
Seattle 100
LA Clippers 107
Indiana 94
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