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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana's stingy defense was no match for
Steve Smith and the Portland Trail Blazers.
|  | | Portland's Steve Smith, middle, splits the Pacers defense while driving to the basket. |
Smith scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter Thursday
night as the Trail Blazers held off a late rally and beat Indiana
92-82, snapping the Pacers' four-game winning streak.
"I hit some shots, the guys were setting some picks and looking
for me," Smith said. "They came back in the fourth quarter, but
we're a pretty good team. We gutted it out and got us a victory."
Portland set the tone early, hitting 10 of its first 13 shots
and building an 18-point lead before the Pacers closed within three
on a basket by Jalen Rose at the end of the third quarter.
A 3-pointer by Reggie Miller and a basket by Austin Croshere had
Indiana within 69-65 in the fourth period. But Smith scored two
straight baskets, Greg Anthony hit one of two free throws and Smith
and Rasheed Wallace scored again to break the game open.
"We were hitting our shots," Smith said. "When you've got a
lot of guys hitting shots it's hard to pick a guy to come off of.
You've got to double a lot of our guys on our team, and we were
kind of making them pay the price for it."
Wallace also had 22 points. Croshere scored a season-high 23
points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and Miller added 18 points for
the Pacers. Dale Davis, who came to Portland in a trade with
Indiana in the offseason, had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
"Smith helped us and hit some tremendous shots," Portland
coach Mike Dunleavy said. "He helped with the pick and roll and
knocked down some important shots."
Davis' final basket with four minutes remaining put Portland up
80-67, marking the first time in five games Indiana had allowed
that many points.
"The team that showed up in the first half was a team I haven't
seen before," Pacers coach Isiah Thomas said. "We came out with
no energy, no force, no aggression. I don't have an answer for why
we came out that way. I'm very puzzled by that. We had good
practices. Everybody was healthy, well-rested, and we just came out
soft."
The Pacers came in with the NBA's top defense in field goal
percentage, but the Blazers jumped ahead 8-0 and never let up. A
3-point basket by Damon Stoudamire capped another run of seven
straight points and gave Portland a 21-9 lead with under five
minutes left in the first quarter.
The Pacers closed within eight at the end of the period. Smith
scored three times as the Blazers took their biggest lead at 43-25
midway through the second quarter.
Rose did not take a shot in the first quarter and had only two
points at halftime, when Portland led 47-33. Rose finished with
eight points on 3-of-16 shooting.
"There are going to be days like that," Rose said. "I'm
particularly disappointed with the way I played. You've got to give
them credit. They picked us apart and I shot awful. Combine those
two things, and it's hard to win. No excuses."
Game notes
Scottie Pippen, sidelined eight of Portland's past nine
games by tendinitis in his right elbow, was placed on the injured
list before the game. The Blazers activated Antonio Harvey, who did
not play. ... Bonzi Wells, who is from nearby Muncie and played at
Ball State, has had the two best games of his career against the
Pacers, with 29 points last year and 27 earlier this season. He
managed just six points this game. ... Indiana's Travis Best, who
came in leading the NBA with 4.19 assists for every turnover, had
14 points and three assists with one turnover. ... Jermaine O'Neal,
who came to Indiana in the trade for Davis, had 10 points and 11
rebounds.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Portland Clubhouse
Indiana Clubhouse
RECAPS
Dallas 120
Vancouver 83
Portland 92
Indiana 82
Minnesota 109
Orlando 100
Utah 98
Denver 96
San Antonio 97
Sacramento 91
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Reggie Miller Official Site
Mike Dunleavy Official Site
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