ESPN Network: ESPN.com | NFL.com | NBA.com | NHL.com | WNBA.com | ABCSports | EXPN | FANTASY | INSIDER

  Scores/Schedules
  Standings
  Statistics
  Transactions
  Injuries
  Players
  Message Board
  NBA StatSearch
  NBA en espaņol
Clubhouses





Wednesday, Jan. 3 10:00pm ET
Wells pacers Blazers with 27 points

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The Portland Trail Blazers made things look so easy against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, the game resembled a layup drill.

Bonzi Wells scored a season-high 27 points as the Trail Blazers turned the game into a fast-break clinic and beat the Pacers 102-86.

Bonzi Wells
Bonzi Wells, right, and the Blazers mad the most of their easy chances against Indiana.

"Basically they were shooting layups," Indiana's Jalen Rose said. "Teams get confident when they can run out on you and get easy layups. It energizes the crowd, and it energizes the team. They did a good job of taking advantage of that."

Scottie Pippen added a season-high 24 points and tied his season-high with nine assists for Portland, which won its sixth straight.

Rose scored 16 points and Reggie Miller added 13 for the Pacers, who trailed by 17 after three quarters and never got close in the final period. Rose shot 1-for-8 in the second half.

"We've got so many guys we should be running," Wells said. "We should run and try to make guys' tongues hang out by the time the fourth quarter comes."

Portland did just that, putting the game away in the third after Indiana got as close as 57-54 on Jermaine O'Neal's dunk with 5:07 left in the period.

"We lost concentration," Indiana coach Isiah Thomas said. "They were able to get in transition. (Damon) Stoudamire was pushing it, Bonzi Wells got behind our defense a couple times and they were able to get some easy scores."

The Blazers went on a 14-0 run, picking off passes and blocking shots while coasting in for fast-break layups and dunks.

"I'm the type of guy who likes to stay around the basket and try to get easy buckets," Wells said, "and today I just got a lot of easy buckets. I kept running and Damon and Scottie just found me and I finished."

The Pacers missed shot after shot, including back-to-back layups by Rose and Austin Croshere, while the Blazers padded their lead. Wells added a layup, Rasheed Wallace hit a jumper, Pippen hit a layup and Damon Stoudamire put Portland up 69-54 with a jump shot that triggered an Indiana timeout with 2:12 left.

"We were fighting and scratching for every basket," Rose said, "and it's tough to come back when a team is running like that."

The Pacers didn't come back, and the Blazers capped the drive with a fast-break alley-oop as Pippen threw a bullet from the 3-point line to Wells, who dunked for a 71-54 lead.

Wells finished the quarter with a fast-break dunk over 7-footer Zan Tabak that put Portland up 75-58.

"He beat our entire five back a couple times," said O'Neal, Wells' teammate for two seasons in Portland. "He played the floor real well."

The Pacers stayed with the Blazers for most of the first quarter, but Portland simply outplayed the defending Eastern Conference champions down the stretch.

The Pacers pulled within 18-16 when Miller hit a technical after Portland was whistled for its second illegal defense of the period. But Wells had a pair of dunks with less than two minutes to play, one off his own steal of Jonathan Bender's pass and another from Pippen's steal of a pass by Miller to put Portland up 22-16.

Indiana went on a 13-5 run to take a two-point lead, but Portland brought its starting lineup back out late in the second quarter and used a 12-4 run to take a 45-40 halftime lead.

"Some of our passes were really right on the money, and gave us a chance to finish in stride and do some of the things we have been working on," said Portland coach Mike Dunleavy, who has started Wells in front of Steve Smith the past three games. "At this point, we are working our lineup. There is no master plan."

Game notes
Wells, who scored a career-high 29 points against Indiana last season, started his third straight game. ... The Pacers lost five of their last seven games. ... Indiana won both contests against the Blazers last season, and have taken five of the last six at home. ... Portland outscored Indiana 23-12 on fast-break points, including 21-6 through three quarters.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Indiana Clubhouse

Portland Clubhouse

RECAPS
New York 100
Boston 91

Philadelphia 98
Atlanta 80

Detroit 107
Dallas 104

Milwaukee 88
Cleveland 83

Phoenix 90
LA Clippers 85

Portland 102
Indiana 86

Vancouver 99
Charlotte 89

Denver 111
Golden State 100

LA Lakers 82
Utah 71

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Reggie Miller Official Site

Mike Dunleavy Official Site


ESPN.com:  HELP |  ADVERTISER INFO |  CONTACT US |  TOOLS |  SITE MAP
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.