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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The trade that brought Scottie Pippen and
his six NBA championships to the Portland Trail Blazers never
looked better than it did Sunday.
Pippen, showing the kind of playoff leadership the Blazers have
lacked for years, scored a season-high 28 points and helped hold
the Minnesota Timberwolves to 13 points in the fourth quarter as
Portland rallied for a 91-88 victory Game 1 of the best-of-five
series.
|  | | Scottie Pippen knifes through Minnesota's defense for a layup. |
"I tried to step up my game and put all my energy into coming
out and being aggressive, and doing whatever it takes for us to win
-- by any means necessary," Pippen said.
The Blazers trailed 75-69 to start the fourth quarter, but came
back when Minnesota, which had been making its jump shots all game,
suddenly started forcing them.
Pippen, who spent a miserable season in Houston last year after
helping Michael Jordan win six titles in Chicago, showed his old
playoff grit late in the game. He drove to the basket and was hit
across the right side of the face by Anthony Peeler with 1:26 left.
Pippen grimaced in pain, but still made his foul shots for an 87-82
lead.
"I thought Pippen was unbelievable," Timberwolves coach Flip
Saunders said. "I saw a lot of stuff in the paper about how they
got Scottie for this situation, and he got them off to a great
start. He was phenomenal."
The Timberwolves got within three twice, on two free throws by
Malik Sealy and a drive by Terrell Brandon. But Pippen and Detlef
Schrempf combined for four free throws in the final 16 seconds to
seal it.
Sealy had 23 points to lead the Timberwolves. Garnett had 12
points, a career high-tying 11 assists, and 10 rebounds, but he
shot just 6-of-20, including 1-for-5 in the fourth quarter. Brandon
had 17 points and 12 assists.
The Timberwolves, who have never won a playoff series in their
11-year history, fell to 0-4 in openers.
"We always seem to be in position to win at the end, but for
some reason we can't seem to come through," Garnett said.
Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis had a horrible start, missing his
first six shots and getting into foul trouble. His first basket
came with 10:35 to play, and it pulled the Blazers to 75-71.
That seemed to energize the 7-foot-3 Lithuanian. He sank a
20-foot jumper and hit one of two free throws after bowling over
Joe Smith, who had to leave the game after hitting his head on the
court.
Sabonis then fed Rasheed Wallace for a layup and a foul with
5:16 left, and Wallace's free throw gave the Blazers their first
lead since halftime, 81-79.
The Timberwolves hurt themselves by shooting just 26 percent in
the fourth quarter and turning over the ball five times after
committing just seven in the first three periods.
"Those guys can shoot. If you're not getting to their jumpers,
they're going to make shots, pure and simple," said Greg Anthony,
who held Brandon to just two points on 1-of-4 shooting in the
fourth.
Minnesota also had been 20-0 on the road when leading after
three quarters, but that streak came to an abrupt halt.
The Timberwolves were second only to the Blazers in field-goal
shooting this season, but were just 17th in 3-point percentage.
Showing strong discipline, Minnesota took just two 3s in the first
half -- missing both -- preferring makeable mid-range jumpers.
That all fell apart in the fourth. After a 20-foot jumper by
Sealy put Minnesota ahead 79-75 with 8:12 left, the Timberwolves
missed 10 of 11 shots until Brandon's layup with 9.2 seconds left.
Eight of those misses were long jumpers, including two airballs.
The first quarter belonged to Pippen, who scored 13 points and
hit six of seven shots. Three of those were superb inside baskets.
First he drove and dunked left-handed over Wally Szczerbiak, then
had a more emphatic slam over Radoslav Nesterovic. Later he went up
in the air, switched the ball to his left and laid it off the
glass.
"Even I was impressed with how strong he took the ball to the
basket," Portland coach Mike Dunleavy said. "He was the big key
for us, getting off to a good start, and late in the game, he kept
the attack mode on."
Pippen also hit an open 3-pointer and sank two more long jumpers
in the final 1:27. After the Timberwolves made the mistake of
double-teaming Schrempf inside, Damon Stoudamire wound up with a
wide-open 3-pointer to cap a 16-4 run and give the Blazers a 33-22
lead.
It didn't take long for the Timberwolves to come back. Peeler
scored the team's first five points, and Brandon hit two mid-range
jumpers as Portland hit just one field goal in the first 6{
minutes. A short hook by Nesterovic capped a 13-2 run and tied it
at 35.
Pippen hit a 3, and the teams traded leads four times the rest
of the half. Garnett launched a 20-footer over Wallace that dropped
in at the buzzer to pull Minnesota within 48-47.
Game notes
Portland's Bonzi Wells, a valuable backup to Steve Smith
during the regular season, struggled in his first playoff game. He
had zero points on 0-for-2 shooting as Minnesota held a 19-4 edge
in bench scoring. ... Smith has made 43 of his last 47 postseason
free throws, dating to last season with Atlanta.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 92
Toronto 88
Portland 91
Minnesota 88
LA Lakers 117
Sacramento 107
Indiana 88
Milwaukee 85
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Portland's Scottie Pippen leads by example.
wav: 82 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Damon Stoudamire says Pippen came to play.
wav: 58 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Kevin Garnett says Pippen was everywhere he looked.
wav: 99 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Minnesota coach Flip Saunders commends Pippen's play.
wav: 137 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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