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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
SEATTLE (AP) -- Even though it's early, Seattle center Horace Grant said there's no doubt about it: Portland and the Los Angeles Lakers are the two best teams in the NBA.
|  | | Seattle's Vin Baker, left, and Portland's Brian Grant mix it up battling for a loose ball. |
Grant had a season-high 19 rebounds and Gary Payton scored 22 points, but the deep and talented Trail Blazers ended an eight-game
losing streak in Seattle with a 107-81 victory over the SuperSonics on Thursday night.
"They beat us in every aspect of the game tonight," Grant
said. "Their bench doesn't skip a beat, either. They just keep
coming and coming."
Led by Greg Anthony's 17 points on 5-for-7 3-point shooting, the Trail Blazers' bench outscored Seattle's 42-16.
In the first of four games this season between the Pacific
Division rivals, Portland pulled away after a close first half.
The Blazers' defense smothered Vin Baker's inside game, holding the Sonics forward to eight points on 4-for-15 shooting. He came into the game
averaging 17.2 points.
"We're a hard team to beat because we can keep the pressure up
for a full 48 minutes," said Portland's Scottie Pippen, who
contributed four points.
"We were having fun playing defense. We didn't focus all of our
attention of trying to get everybody on the same page on offense,"
added Portland's Brian Grant.
The Blazers took a 15-point lead after three quarters and had
the game won halfway through the final one, scoring 12 straight
points to take a 97-70 lead after Brian Grant's 15-footer with 5:24
left.
Seattle coach Paul Westphal pulled Payton and Grant with 4:23
left and the Blazers in front 97-73. Sonics fans then began
streaming out of the Key Arena.
"They're a great team," Westphal said. "If you're not sharp and you don't take care of the ball at the big times, they can do this to teams."
Despite Grant's 19 rebounds, the Blazers had a 45-42
rebounding edge and Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy said that was one
of the keys to his team's victory.
"We want to control the glass and get into the open court,"
Dunleavy said. "That's what we did."
Led by Damon Stoudamire's 20 points, four Portland starters
scored in double figures as Rasheed Wallace and Steve Smith each
had 15 and Arvydas Sabonis added 11.
The Sonics scored the first nine points of the second half,
capped by a driving layup by Payton with 3:14 gone, before Portland
went on a 17-2 run for a 66-55 lead.
A smothering defense that swarmed over the 6-foot-11 Baker
triggered the Blazers' offense. Pippen scored his first basket of
the game with 6:15 gone in the second half.
The Blazers finished with 10 blocked shots, five by Wallace.
"They got their hands on a lot of balls, particularly my
shots," Baker said. "I've got to protect the ball better."
Game notes
The last time the Blazers won a game in Seattle was April
17, 1995. Portland and Seattle split four games last season. The
teams will meet again in Portland Dec. 28. ... Former Sonics
forward Detlef Schrempf received a loud ovation when he entered the
game for the first time at the start of the second quarter for
Portland. ... O'Neal suffered a sprained right ankle and had to be
helped off the floor with 3:52 remaining.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Portland Clubhouse
Seattle Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 108
New Jersey 104
LA Lakers 95
Atlanta 88
Milwaukee 96
Miami 95
New York 100
Dallas 93
Denver 116
Sacramento 106
Portland 107
Seattle 81
Detroit 116
Golden State 108
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