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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – On a night when the Portland Trail Blazers
honored the most popular player in franchise history, they did
Clyde Drexler a disservice by playing one of their worst games of
the season.
|  | | Damon Stoudamire tries to duck out of the way of Vancouver guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. |
Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 26 points, including two big baskets
in the final two minutes, as the Vancouver Grizzlies defeated the
Blazers 105-97 Tuesday night.
"It's time to get a little concerned," said Portland's Scottie
Pippen, whose team had won four straight but now has given the
Western Conference's best record back to Utah.
"We're not beating the teams we need to beat," Pippen added.
"The way we're playing, we're preparing ourselves for an early
exit from the playoffs."
The team had just retired Drexler's No. 22 jersey in a stirring
ceremony filled with fireworks and videotaped highlights when the
game took a turn for the worse for the Blazers. Minutes after the
halftime festivities, Rasheed Wallace got thrown out for arguing
with the officials.
"Obviously, Rasheed getting ejected hurt us," said Damon
Stoudamire. "But at the same time, you can't give guys layups."
It was Vancouver's first victory in Portland since Nov. 3, 1995,
when the expansion team won the opening game in franchise history.
The Grizzlies, sitting last in the Midwest Division, entered the
game with a 6-23 road record.
"Around the six-minute mark, we took a timeout and all I said
is, `We've been in this situation before. Now it's time for us to
keep our composure,"' said Grizzlies coach Sidney Lowe.
Pippen, Stoudamire and Bonzi Wells each scored 15 points to lead
the Blazers. Wallace scored just two points on 1-of-7 shooting
before he was tossed for the fifth time this season after receiving
two quick technicals 1:34 into the third quarter.
Wallace leads the NBA with 34 technicals, on his way toward
breaking the record of 38 he set last season.
Rod Strickland, signed by the Blazers as a free agent Monday
after being released by the Washington Wizards last week, had five
assists, moving past Bob Cousy into eighth place all-time with
6,959.
"I'll feel it tomorrow," said the aching Strickland, who
hadn't played since Jan. 31. "I definitely have some rust to get
off. I still have that little uncomfortable feeling, just from
being in a new situation, but in time I'll be a lot more
comfortable."
Abdur-Rahim added eight rebounds and Mike Bibby had 14 points
for the Grizzlies, who had lost seven games in a row after winning
five straight since the All-Star break.
The Blazers tied it at 95 on a fastbreak dunk and foul shot by
Dale Davis with 2:09 to play. Abdur-Rahim got a tip-in at the other
end, and on the next possession he drove the lane for a layup and a
99-95 lead with 1:15 to go.
Detlef Schrempf missed a jumper, and that was it for the
Blazers.
"It seems like everything that we built up in our little
four-game winning streak is gone now," Stoudamire said. "That's a
team playing for nothing but pride right now. We've got to knock
those guys out at the end."
Portland appeared to take over the momentum with a 13-2 run to
end the third quarter. The Blazers had missed 10 of 11 shots in one
stretch, and Vancouver surged ahead 70-63 on a short jumper off the
glass by Tony Massenburg.
The Blazers were sparked by defense. A steal by Pippen led to a
finger roll by Schrempf, and after another steal and long outlet
pass from Shawn Kemp, Stoudamire found himself one-on-one against
Grant Long. Stoudamire made a difficult shot and was knocked to the
floor. His free throw put the Blazers ahead 76-72 entering the
fourth.
Game notes
Vancouver was averaging 44 percent shooting per game, but
they shot 56 percent Tuesday night. ... The last time Strickland
was in a Blazers' uniform, the team lost Game 5 of a 1996
first-round playoff series to the Utah Jazz 102-64. ... Portland is
1-8 when its opponent shoots better than 50 percent.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
Blazers retire the No. 22 jersey of high-flying Drexler
RECAPS
Minnesota 95
Charlotte 89
New York 97
Indiana 83
Chicago 87
Cleveland 74
Phoenix 93
Denver 82
Sacramento 98
Toronto 91
Vancouver 105
Portland 97
San Antonio 101
Seattle 73
LA Lakers 97
Golden State 85
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