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Wednesday, Feb. 7 10:00pm ET
Blazers rest on two-game West lead

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Portland Trail Blazers backed their way into the best record in the Western Conference. And they're going to spend the better part of the next week enjoying it.

Damon Stoudamire scored 21 points as the Blazers entered the All-Star break with a season-best two-game lead in the West by defeating the Seattle SuperSonics 97-80 Wednesday night.

Rashard Lewis
Portland's Dale Davis gets a hand in the way of Rashard Lewis in the first quarter.

Steve Smith added 19 points and Dale Davis had 13 rebounds for the Blazers (35-15). Portland began the day with a one-game lead over Sacramento, which was routed by 29 points at Minnesota.

"We knew that Sacramento had lost again, and we wanted to build on our lead in the division," Smith said. "And we wanted to go to the break on a positive."

Rashard Lewis had 21 points to lead the Sonics, who have lost three of five and remained stuck in the ninth spot in the West.

Vin Baker added 13 points, and Patrick Ewing had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Gary Payton, who missed the last two games with an abdominal strain, had 11 points but sat out the fourth quarter.

Sonics coach Nate McMillan said Payton didn't have his usual quickness, but Payton said he felt fine.

"I was just getting warmed up in the third quarter, and then Nate decided he didn't want to play me no more," Payton said. "That's his decision. We talked about it."

The Blazers looked nothing like the conference's best team in a loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, but they've risen to the top by default. The Kings, who beat the Blazers on Jan. 20, have lost three straight.

Portland struggled on offense early against the Sonics, but began to pull away late in the third quarter when Smith made a 3-point heave off the glass to beat the shot clock horn.

"They definitely had the shot god on their side tonight," Baker said.

That put Portland ahead 65-58, and the Blazers began the fourth period with six straight points. Arvydas Sabonis picked up a loose ball and banked a shot in, then Smith put back Stoudamire's miss and made two free throws for a 71-58 lead.

Seattle got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

"We came in like we wanted to get this game over as quick as possible, looking forward to the All-Star break," McMillan said.

Marred by turnovers and poor shooting, the game was slow until the third period, when two straight 3-pointers by Stoudamire gave the Blazers a 53-43 lead.

"In the second half, I got some steals, and the 3-pointers were going, and I ignited us," Stoudamire said.

Seattle got within five on a 3-pointer by Payton, and a 3-pointer by Lewis cut it to 62-58. But on the next possession, Smith wound up with the ball and flung it up to beat the shot clock. It banked in.

"I called the bank on that," Smith said. "It was a pretty lucky shot, and it seemed to get us going."

Stoudamire had hit a similar shot earlier in the period to make it 58-50.

The teams had split their first two games, and it was even early in this one. Baker capped a 9-0 run by putting back his own miss, Seattle's third straight second-chance basket, to go ahead 33-25. But the Blazers responded with an 18-4 run, including a four-point trip.

Bonzi Wells hit a transition layup and got fouled, and Baker, who thought he had been bumped at the other end, was hit with a technical foul after throwing his elbow pad into the crowd.

Smith hit the technical shot, Wells sank his free throw and Stoudamire followed with a long jumper to make it 43-37.

Game notes
Portland, which played the first of six straight at home, has won 13 of 14 at the Rose Garden. ... Seattle's Ruben Patterson was eligible to play after serving a three-game suspension for an assault conviction in Cleveland, but he didn't play. ... The Blazers' Rasheed Wallace finished serving his two-game suspension for throwing a towel at a referee. He leaves for the All-Star Game at 8 a.m. Thursday.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Seattle Clubhouse

Portland Clubhouse

RECAPS
Boston 94
Milwaukee 91

Houston 112
Philadelphia 87

San Antonio 107
Cleveland 89

New York 96
Dallas 93

Orlando 107
Washington 98

Minnesota 117
Sacramento 88

Portland 97
Seattle 80

Golden State 89
LA Clippers 88

LA Lakers 85
Phoenix 83

Utah 92
Vancouver 82

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