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Monday, Mar. 19 8:30pm ET
Blazers still reeling with loss to Spurs

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

SAN ANTONIO (AP) – As the San Antonio Spurs continue their March onslaught, the Portland Trail Blazers just keep falling.

The Spurs, who are leading the Western Conference, beat Portland 98-85 Monday night for their 10th win in 11 games.

Derek Anderson
The Spurs' Derek Anderson tries to protect the ball as Scottie Pippen steps up the pressure.

Meanwhile, the Blazers, who led the conference just three weeks ago, dropped to sixth place after losing their fifth of six games.

For the Blazers, it was the start of a grueling three-game road trip that continues Tuesday night at Dallas and Thursday night at Utah.

"We have to fight for our lives and keep our position," said Damon Stoudamire, who had six points for Portland. "We can't drop any lower. Things are snowballing right now.

"I know things can change throughout a season, but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that we would be in the position that we are in right now," he said. "We are in sixth position now, but we'll be in seventh by the end of the week the way we're playing right now."

With Portland center Arvydas Sabonis out for most of the game after a fall and Scottie Pippen in foul trouble, the Blazers couldn't catch up once the Spurs surged ahead by as many as 17 in the first quarter. They never cut the lead to less than nine.

"It's pretty tough. We just have to continue to fight through it," said Pippen, who had six points, seven assists and seven rebounds. "I really don't have an answer for it. We just need to play harder – defend, just do the little things and stop teams from dominating. Right now we're not doing that. The first half showed that."

Some of the Blazers' defeats have been pinned on Rasheed Wallace, who despite leading the team in scoring has picked up 37 technical fouls this season, one short of the NBA record he set last year.

But on Monday night, Wallace had 20 points and no foul problems. Reserve Steve Smith led Portland with 23 points that included four 3-pointers.

It was San Antonio's second victory over the Blazers in 11 days.

Derek Anderson had 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Tim Duncan had 20 points and tied his career high with 23 rebounds. David Robinson added 15 points.

San Antonio took control in the first quarter, going up 24-10 after a 14-0 run, including 3-pointers by Anderson and Terry Porter and a 3-point play by Samaki Walker, who threw the ball up from under the basket and drew the foul.

"We are playing very confidently right now," Duncan said. "We know what to do and we're doing it."

"They're hungry and they see what's possible," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Sabonis left the game early in the second quarter with ice on his left ankle after falling while trying to grab a rebound. The 7-foor-3 center, who earlier this month was hampered by a sore right foot, scored four points in seven minutes of play. He has been averaging 10.3 points a game.

Game notes
San Antonio has won 24 of its last 29 games. ... Duncan had 15 rebounds and scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half. ... Portland had won the three previous games against the Spurs in San Antonio. ... Sean Elliott missed his sixth straight game with a sore left leg.

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NBA Scoreboard

Portland Clubhouse

San Antonio Clubhouse

RECAPS
Atlanta 108
LA Lakers 106

San Antonio 98
Portland 85

Seattle 93
Philadelphia 89

AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Tim Duncan shows his versatility with a 3-pointer, a rebound and a block against Portland.
avi: 1640 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

audio
 Tim Duncan was pleased with the 48-minute effort by the Spurs.
wav: 121 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

 David Robinson felt the Spurs are on the right track after their victory over the Blazers.
wav: 98 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6

 Terry Porter hopes the Spurs can continue their winning ways.
wav: 97 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6


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