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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Bonzi Wells showed he can start and
finish, and the Portland Trail Blazers displayed their wealth of
talent against the Vancouver Grizzlies.
|  | | Portland's Arvydas Sabonis shot 9-for-12 on his way to a season-high 20 points Friday against Vancouver. |
Wells scored 14 points in his first NBA start and Arvydas
Sabonis added 20 points in a reserve role as the Blazers beat the
Grizzlies 104-81 Friday night.
The Trail Blazers won their fourth straight game, despite the
absence of guard Steve Smith, who was sidelined by the flu.
Wells was a capable replacement.
"We were a little undermanned with Steve out, but guys stepped
up," Scottie Pippen said. "Bonzi came in and played a spectacular
game, offensively as well as defensively. That's what we need, is
people to step up."
Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 29 points in 36 minutes for the
Grizzlies, but did not play in the fourth quarter when the game was
out of reach.
"I can't say I have a lot of experience with winning in this
league, but I'd say there is a fine line between winning and
losing," Abdur-Rahim said. "There are little things you have to
do to win, and if you don't do them you won't win games.
"Sometimes we just don't do those little things."
The Blazers, who received 14 points from Rasheed Wallace, seized
control of the game early in the third quarter. Damon Stoudamire
hit a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer, and Scottie Pippen hit a
3-pointer and found Dale Davis on an alley-oop dunk that gave the
Blazers a 55-39 lead with 9:43 left in the quarter.
Vancouver called a time out, but after Othella Harrington missed
a jumper, Stoudamire had an uncontested layup and Portland had a
60-41 lead. The Grizzlies never challenged the rest of the way.
"Portland was too big, too strong and too efficient,"
Vancouver coach Sidney Lowe said. "They executed the way they are
supposed to. They made the passes and they hurt us on the boards."
Portland outrebounded Vancouver 46-28 and used a combination of
players on Abdur-Rahim. The Grizzlies' fifth-year forward scored 19
points in the first half before slowing in the second. He scored 10
points in the third quarter after Portland took a 66-47 lead on a
deep jumper by Wells.
"Shareef made it tough on us for a while," Wells said. "So,
we shut down the rest of the team."
Wallace and Pippen defended Abdur-Rahim most of the game and
contained him for much of the third.
But with Wallace sitting, Abdur-Rahim scored 10 straight in a
three-minute span before Portland called a timeout and finished the
quarter with a 9-2 run for a 79-59 lead.
The teams played to a 21-21 tie in the first quarter, but
Portland pulled away in the second.
Stacy Augmon hit a pair of free throws as Portland took a 28-27
lead, and the Blazers repeatedly went inside to Sabonis and used a
13-6 run for a 38-27 advantage.
Stromile Swift dunked a slick pass from Damon Jones and
Abdur-Rahim hit a quick jumper to end the Grizzlies' 3:43 scoreless
stretch.
Vancouver went another 2:24 without a basket, and Portland went
on a 10-6 run to take a 46-37 halftime lead. Sabonis had nine
points in the quarter and Shawn Kemp added six of his nine points
from outside and finished with nine rebounds and a season-high five
assists.
"We got a little bit more aggressive and got up a little bit,"
Pippen said. "When you're playing against a young team, it's
sometimes tough for them to get back into it."
Game notes
Smith had started all 30 of Portland's games this season.
Last season, Smith started 82 regular-season games and 16 playoff
games. ... The Grizzlies lost their fourth straight overall and
fifth consecutive road game. ... Abdur-Rahim sat out the fourth
quarter for the second straight game. In Vancouver's 97-95 home
loss to Phoenix on Tuesday, he played only 16 seconds in the final
period. ... Greg Anthony twisted his right ankle in the third
quarter and did not return.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Cleveland 97
Atlanta 85
Miami 98
Washington 91
New York 95
Chicago 68
Portland 104
Vancouver 81
Golden State 100
Utah 89
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Mike Dunleavy Official Site
Mike Bibby Official Site
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