RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Bonzi Wells figures it was a lack of
respect that allowed him to score 26 points Sunday in the Portland
Trail Blazers' 110-102 overtime victory over the Orlando Magic.
| | Orlando's Darrell Armstrong, right, collides with Damon Stoudamire going for a rebound in the last seconds of regulation. |
Wells had 20 points after the third quarter as Orlando
double-teamed Rasheed Wallace, who had a season-high 37 points,
including 26 in the first half.
On a team that features Wallace, Scottie Pippen, Dale Davis,
Steve Smith and Damon Stoudamire in the starting lineup, Wells will
happily take what he can get as a reserve.
He played 31 minutes, making 10 of 13 field goals and tying
Stoudamire for the team lead with nine rebounds. He also had four
steals and two blocked shots.
"We got so many top players and I'm probably one of the least
respected ones, so I tried to sneak up and make some big plays,"
Wells said. "I didn't go in there thinking I was going to do a lot
of scoring. I wanted it to start with my defense. If I play a lot
of defense, my offense will come and it did."
Wallace made 12 of 20 shots, including 4 of 5 3-pointers, and 9
of 10 free throws. He also contributed seven rebounds, six assists
and a season-high five blocked shots.
Stoudamire, who had 18 points, said Orlando's effort to force
the game into overtime was typical.
"I think we take every team's best punches," Stoudamire said.
"There are a lot of expectations around here and everybody wants
to beat us. I never thought we'd be talking about maturity with a
team like ours. We matured a little bit.
"We made some big plays down the stretch. Orlando had to double
Rasheed a lot, which opened up the middle for the rest of us. Bonzi
was able to slash down the lane and hit three buckets in crunch
time."
John Amaechi led five Orlando players in double figures with 27
points. Tracy McGrady had 24 and eight rebounds in 50 minutes,
Darrell Armstrong scored 14 and Pat Garrity had 13. Bo Outlaw had
12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Magic coach Doc Rivers said the difference in the game was his
team's 21 turnovers, including nine during the fourth quarter and
overtime. Portland scored 22 points off Magic turnovers.
"Twenty-one turnovers really killed us, and the overtime was
awful," Rivers said. "We had three turnovers with no pressure; we
just turned it over.
"I'm getting tired of saying I'm encouraged by losses, so I'm
not going to say it this time. We had some breakdowns down the
stretch and we have to do better than that."
Wells made a pair of free throws to start the fourth quarter and
led the Trail Blazers on a 12-3 run that gave them an 84-75 lead at
the 7:29 mark. After Smith's free throw put Portland ahead 85-77,
Orlando went on an 10-3 run to close to 88-87.
The game was tied twice in the final 1:33. Wells had 15 points
in the fourth quarter, including a basket with 34.8 seconds
remaining that put Portland ahead 98-96. Amaechi hit a layup to tie
the game with 24.5 seconds remaining, but a final shot by Wallace
fell short, forcing overtime.
Orlando only managed a free throw by Amaechi and a 3-pointer by
McGrady in overtime.
Game notes
Portland's Scottie Pippen got his 2,000th career steal in
the second quarter. Pippen finished with two, giving him 2,001, the
seventh NBA player to achieve that goal. He also is only the second
player in history to reach 16,000 points, 6,000 rebounds, 5,000
assists and 2,000 steals. ... Portland is 12-11 against Orlando.
The Magic have won five of the last eight games. ... Portland had
18 fast-break points to Orlando's eight.
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RECAPS
Portland 110 Orlando 102
Charlotte 105 Detroit 96
New York 88 Golden State 71
LA Lakers 104 Chicago 96
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