RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The Portland Trail Blazers are still
looking for some emotion from someone other than Rasheed Wallace.
|  | | Portland's Shawn Kemp struggled with a six-point effort Tuesday, but the Blazers had enough to beat the Atlanta Hawks. |
Steve Smith scored 22 points and Greg Anthony added 17 as the
Blazers withstood Wallace's late ejection to hold off the Atlanta
Hawks 97-88 Tuesday night, giving the winless Hawks the worst start
in their history.
Jason Terry had 21 points and Lorenzen Wright 18 for the Hawks,
who fell to 0-5.
"We just need to play smarter basketball with a killer instinct
to put teams away," forward Scottie Pippen said. "We need to play
like we're down 10 points instead of ahead."
Atlanta cut an 18-point third-quarter deficit to five when Jimmy
Jackson hit a pair of free throws with 35.5 seconds left after
Wallace was whistled for two technical fouls for arguing a no-call.
Wallace, who set an NBA record with 38 technicals last season,
finished with 16 points.
"I wish it could have happened earlier, so we could have gotten
him out of there earlier," said Jackson, who was Wallace's
Portland teammate two seasons ago. "It was a critical situation,
but that's Rasheed's personality."
Damon Stoudamire then hit two free throws, and after Terry
made only one of two, Smith added a pair from the line to give
Portland a 94-86 lead. The Hawks were then forced to foul.
The Blazers began the season 1-3 and were tied for last in the
Pacific Division before playing the first of three straight home
games against teams that didn't make the playoffs last season.
Portland plays Denver and Houston before beginning a season-long
seven-game road trip.
"We need to start playing to win games," Dunleavy said. "I'm
not afraid to change lineups, minutes or rotations. Nobody on this
team is guaranteed so many minutes. You have to earn those
minutes."
Dale Davis had four blocks in the third quarter, including three
on Alan Henderson in one series, as the Blazers took control of the
game. Davis finished with seven blocked shots, tying a career high.
Anthony, who nearly signed with the Hawks in the offseason
before re-signing with Portland, hit a 3-pointer with three minutes
left in the third to give the Blazers a 72-58 lead that appeared to
be secure.
But the Hawks stayed with the Blazers as rookie DerMarr Johnson
scored eight straight points. Stoudamire was called for a blocking
foul with 3:58 left in the game, and Terry's free throws cut the
lead to 88-81.
"We've just got to mentally stay in it for 48 minutes," Smith
said. "We need games. The more games we play, the more we'll get
in a rhythm."
Anthony hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Blazers a
25-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, and then hit a
3-pointer and pull-up jumper to give Portland a 37-24 lead with
9:11 to go in the second.
"I'm a little surprised to shoot so well so soon," Anthony
said. "Reality is going to hit me pretty soon."
Wallace already has been ejected twice this year. He got a pair
of technicals against Seattle in the Blazers' 97-90 win Saturday.
"I think he picked a good time this time," Smith said of
Wallace. "That's just Rasheed. With time, as he gets older, he'll
get out of that habit."
Jackson, who joked with Wallace several times on the court,
believed the All-Star forward's emotion is more a positive than a
negative.
"Rasheed has to take it upon himself when to argue that and
when not to," Jackson said. "You've got to deal with it because
out of 82 games, it's going to help you more than hurt you."
Game notes
Atlanta coach Lon Kruger remained winless in his first
season after leaving Illinois. ... Anthony led all scorers with 14
points in the first half and hit five of eight 3-pointers. ... The
Hawks shot just 25 percent in first quarter and finished at 37
percent from the field. ... Both teams played without their
starting centers, as Portland's Arvydas Sabonis is recovering from
knee surgery and Dikembe Mutombo has a mild case of malaria.
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NBA Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 105
Boston 75
New York 103
Milwaukee 89
Washington 88
Chicago 83
Houston 84
LA Lakers 74
Phoenix 100
San Antonio 81
Portland 97
Atlanta 88
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Damon Stoudamire gets the steal and takes it in alone for the score.
avi: 631 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Atlanta's Jason Terry slams it down hard after making the steal.
avi: 448 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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