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Friday, Mar. 9 10:00pm ET
Dunleavy: 'Something's not right'

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – The regular season is slipping away from the Portland Trail Blazers.

Mahmound Abdul-Rauf
Vancouver's Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, right, struggles to hang on as Scottie Pippen challenges.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 15 points as Vancouver beat Portland 95-85 Friday night, the Grizzlies' second victory over the Trail Blazers in four days.

The Grizzlies, who defeated the Trail Blazers 105-97 Tuesday in Portland, dealt Portland its third straight loss.

The win was Vancouver's fifth in 11 games against Portland at GM Place.

"One step forward, three steps back," Portland guard Damon Stoudamire said. "We shouldn't have to be finding out about ourselves in game 63 of the season, trying to find an identity. But that's where we are."

Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy looked down the deepest bench in the league and couldn't find a player capable of providing a spark.

Bonzi Wells scored 24 points for Portland.

The Grizzlies' bench, one of the weakest in the league, outscored the Blazers' reserves 40-24.

"It's disturbing," Dunleavy said. "Our teams have always responded in a real positive manner. I'm not even saying having lost two games you're going to win them all. I'm used to getting an unbelievable effort out of my guys. I didn't see the effort. I didn't see emotion."

The Grizzlies, whose win over the Blazers was the first March road win in franchise history, outscored Portland 23-15 in the final period.

Trail Blazers veterans Scottie Pippen and Rasheed Wallace collectively scored four points in 20 combined minutes down the stretch.

Wallace, who had been ejected in each of the Blazers' two previous losses, stayed in the game and played 39 minutes, picking up just one foul. Pippen had six turnovers and 11 points.

Vancouver, which entered the game ranked 27th in the league in shooting, hit 48 percent of its shots in the first half and built a 45-43 lead by halftime.

The Grizzlies used a three-guard offense to stay with the Blazers, who had a 25-17 rebounding advantage in the first half.

Both teams shot 50 percent in the third quarter as the Grizzlies moved out to a 72-70 lead heading into the fourth.

The Grizzlies built their lead to 90-83 with 3:27 to go, and the Blazers were unable to make a late run.

Abdur-Rahim was one of five Vancouver players in double figures. Rookie Stromile Swift finished with 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting, with seven rebounds in 25 minutes for Vancouver. Teammate Tony Massenburg had a season-high 13 points.

"When you look and see that we contested 17 of 20 shots in the fourth quarter, you know we were really going after them," Vancouver coach Sidney Lowe said. "It was pretty good defense by us."

The loss was the fifth for the Blazers this season against teams buried in the standings. Portland had also lost twice to the Los Angeles Clippers and once to Atlanta.

"Something's not right," Dunleavy said.

Game notes
Vancouver center Bryant Reeves (rotator cuff) missed his second straight game and is expected to be out at least another week. Reeves was joined on the sidelines five minutes into the contest by Grant Long, who sprained his ankle and did not return. ... Arvydas Sabonis of the Blazers (foot) also sat out. ... Vancouver plays host to Toronto on Sunday. ... The announced crowd of 15,512 was more than 2,000 above average, since Vancouver was given permission by the NBA to seek another home next season.

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NBA Scoreboard

Portland Clubhouse

Vancouver Clubhouse

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