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Sunday, Apr. 2 9:00pm ET
Rasheed T'd for record 33rd, 34th times | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Part of the Portland Trail Blazers' pre-playoff fine-tuning is learning to win without their volatile best player, Rasheed Wallace. Steve Smith scored 21 points and Scottie Pippen had 18 as the Blazers withstood a record-setting ejection by Wallace and pulled away to defeat the Seattle SuperSonics 95-82 Sunday night. "It's just Rasheed," Pippen said of Wallace's sixth early exit of the season. "He's been tossed more than any guy in the league. I mean, why would it surprise me when he gets tossed tonight?" Wallace, the Blazers' leading scorer, set an NBA record for technical fouls in a season when he picked up two in succession and was ejected early in the second quarter. The Blazers led by just three points at the time, 22-19, but they settled down and used their deep bench to keep the Sonics at bay. "I thought our guys kept their heads with discipline for the most part, and we dealt with the fact that we weren't going to have Rasheed," backup point guard Greg Anthony said. Reserves Bonzi Wells and Detlef Schrempf each added 16 points for the Blazers, who won all four games against the Sonics this season to sweep them for the first time since 1990-91. "That's what elite teams are all about," Seattle forward Horace Grant said. "When one of your star players gets kicked out, and you're missing your big center (Arvydas Sabonis), other guys step up." Gary Payton had 21 points and 11 assists, and Rashard Lewis added 18 points for the Sonics, who fell 1{ games behind Sacramento for the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference playoff race. With nine games left, Seattle is facing a first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. A layup by Payton cut Portland's lead to 67-63 early in the fourth quarter, but Brian Grant hit a short jumper and Wells made a 3-pointer for a 72-63 lead. Two minutes later, Wells hit another 3 to make it 79-67 with 8:07 to go. Seattle couldn't get closer than eight the rest of the way. Wallace was issued the technicals by referee Joey Crawford with 10:37 left in the second quarter. Wallace's 34 technicals break the mark of 32 held by Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman. "Techs ain't nothing," said Wells, one of Wallace's closest friends on the team. "That's just Rasheed. That's my man. Sometimes the refs give him something that he don't deserve, but it don't change the type of person that Rasheed is or the way I feel about him. He's a great guy, and techs just happen." Pippen shot just 7-for-19 but played well despite sitting out the last three quarters of Saturday night's win over Milwaukee with blurry vision after being hit in the head. Pippen said he felt fine. "It was fine this morning on the golf course, too," he laughed. The Blazers led by two at halftime and used an 11-2 run to get some breathing room. A fierce two-handed slam by Jermaine O'Neal on a long lob pass from Smith gave Portland a 62-49 lead, but the Blazers then went 5{ minutes without a basket. Vernon Maxwell hit 3-pointers to begin and end a 12-3 spurt, and in between the Sonics hit five straight free throws after starting 8-for-17. That helped Seattle cut the lead to 67-61 after three quarters. The Blazers started the game by missing 14 of their first 17 shots, and the Sonics got a few easy baskets off long rebounds. A 3-pointer by Lewis capped a 10-0 run and put Seattle ahead 16-10 before the Blazers came back to take a 19-18 lead entering the second quarter. The Blazers went up by seven on a drive by Stoudamire with 3:24 left in the period, but the Sonics rallied to get within 45-43 at the half. Game notesSabonis was at the arena for the first time since going on the injured list March 24 with a sprained right foot. He said he hopes to resume practicing next week, but the team may rest him until the playoffs. ... Baker has hit double figures in rebounds only twice in his last 29 games. ... Seattle had 13 offensive rebounds, but none in the second half. ... Portland's reserves, led by Wells and Schrempf, outscored Seattle's 43-29. In the four games between the teams, the Blazers had a 141-101 lead in that department. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Seattle Clubhouse Portland Clubhouse Blazers' Wallace sets NBA record for technical fouls
RECAPS Detroit 113 New Jersey 92
Portland 95
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