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Wednesday, Dec. 1 10:00pm ET
Anthony's late shots save Blazers | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The Portland Trail Blazers have one of the best records in the NBA, but another close victory over a lesser team brought harsh words -- from coach Mike Dunleavy and his players. Detlef Schrempf scored 18 points and Greg Anthony hit two big shots late in the game to help the Blazers defeat the Charlotte Hornets 94-90 Wednesday night.
"If we are going to be the team we hope to be, we've got to start putting the hammer down and closing people out," Dunleavy said, overlooking his team's 14-3 start. "I haven't been happy with the way we've been playing the last four or five games." Portland, coming off its first home loss of the season Monday to Indiana, blew a 12-point lead to start the third quarter and didn't cement the win until the final minutes. An 18-foot jumper by Derrick Coleman pulled Charlotte within 85-84 with 3:35 to play, but Anthony drove for a layup to make it 87-84. After a free throw by Eddie Jones, Anthony spotted up for a 3-pointer that put the Blazers up 90-85 with 2:49 left. Charlotte couldn't get closer than two, and Schrempf's layup just before the horn was the final margin. "We just kind of exhaled a little bit," Anthony said. "We knew the game was never over." The Blazers shot 51 percent after averaging just 40 percent over their previous five games. Since a 36-point rout of Atlanta on Nov. 13, the Blazers have gone 7-2, but six of those were by six points or fewer. "Everybody -- from Damon (Stoudamire) on up -- is out there second-guessing each other," Schrempf said of the Blazers' erratic offense. "If you're open, you've got to shoot the ball." Elden Campbell had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Coleman had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Charlotte, which fell to 1-6 on the road. Jones had 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting before fouling out with 2:04 left. Arvydas Sabonis had 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting for Portland. It took the Blazers only a few minutes in the third quarter to throw away a 58-46 hafltime lead. Jones capped a 12-2 run with an alley-oop dunk from David Wesley to give Charlotte a 66-65 lead with 4:56 left in the period. Coleman stroked a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer to tie it at 74-all entering the fourth. "We had our chances," said Jones, who held Scottie Pippen to eight points and forced him into four offensive fouls. "They just have a lot of weapons. We missed (Bobby) Phills tonight. We needed somebody else who could make some jump shots." Phills, Charlotte's second-leading scorer at 15 points a game, did not dress because of a strained left hamstring sustained in Saturday's loss. He hopes to be ready for Friday's game at Vancouver. Portland used two runs in the first half to take the lead. Charlotte led 16-13 when the Blazers ran off nine straight points. A jump hook by Anthony Mason pulled the Hornets within 31-24 in the second quarter, but Portland went on a 13-2 run, keyed by Rasheed Wallace's acrobatic one-handed slam on a pass from Greg Anthony, for a 44-26 lead. Dunleavy had criticized his team's lack of hustle and rebounding after the loss to the Pacers, and the Blazers responded. Brian Grant and seldom-used Antonio Harvey went after loose balls, and the Blazers outshot Charlotte 51 percent to 42 percent. Mason, who after Saturday night's 106-89 loss at Cleveland said he was going to play like a "Tasmanian devil," had just six points and one rebound. Schrempf had a season-high nine rebounds, and Steve Smith had 13 points and nine rebounds. Wesley had 11 assists for the Hornets.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Charlotte Clubhouse Portland Clubhouse RECAPS Cleveland 111 Washington 108
Portland 94
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