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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The San Antonio Spurs are making the kind
of late-season surge that started their march toward the 1999
championship.
|  | | Portland's Steve Smith, right, collides with San Antonio's Antonio Daniels as the two battle for position. |
The Portland Trail Blazers, meanwhile, are showing signs of
self-destructing, and once again they're facing questions about
Rasheed Wallace and his uncontrollable anger.
Derek Anderson scored 29 points and Tim Duncan had 16 rebounds
as the San Antonio Spurs used a 23-6 run at the start of the third
quarter to rout the Portland Trail Blazers 93-79 Thursday night.
"These are the kinds of games that define you, especially down
the stretch," said Duncan, who also had 16 points on 4-of-16
shooting and six assists. "You've got to win on the road to be
able to win in the playoffs."
David Robinson added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs,
who have won 19 of 23 games and 10 of 12 on the road. San Antonio
finishes its four-game, five-day West Coast trip against the Los
Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Two years ago, the Spurs won 12 of their last 13 regular-season
games, including four of five on the road. During that stretch,
they beat Portland three times, Utah twice and the Lakers once.
"We are starting to play like we did two years ago," Robinson
said.
Bonzi Wells scored 16 points to lead the Blazers, who were
coming off a humiliating home loss to Vancouver on Tuesday night.
Rasheed Wallace, who did not start because he went to the wrong
place for the shootaround and was late, was ejected for the second
straight game and for the fourth time in his last 13 games.
"It's a major problem," said Portland's Detlef Schrempf. "I
think it should have been addressed a long time ago, but it hasn't
been. (Now) it's too late."
"We've got to find a way to be more composed, and we've got to
find a way to keep (Wallace) in the game," Blazers coach Mike
Dunleavy said. "I don't have the answer. I keep looking for it and
looking for it."
Wallace, who had only nine points and five rebounds, was in a
bad mood all game long because of foul trouble, and referee Steve
Javie finally had enough of his arguing. Javie issued two
technicals to Wallace, the second coming with 4:35 to play after
Wallace already had fouled out.
Wallace pushed his league lead in technicals to 36, two shy of
the record he set last season. He has 11 technicals in his last 13
games.
Moments after Wallace's ejection, Wells and San Antonio's Terry
Porter were tossed for a dispute. It was the first ejection of
Porter's career, spanning 1,181 games.
The latest showdown between two of the West's best teams further
jumbled the tight playoff race in the conference: The Spurs (42-19)
moved within a half-game of Utah for the Midwest Division lead.
Portland (42-20) is tied with the Lakers (41-19) in games
behind, although the Blazers are in third place.
"We're all beating each other up, and it's going to change
drastically day to day and week to week," Spurs coach Gregg
Popovich said.
The Spurs hurt Portland badly with second- and third-chance
baskets, getting 10 offensive rebounds in the second quarter alone,
compared with two for the Blazers.
Anderson had 15 of his points in the third period, and the Spurs
outscored the Blazers 27-14.
It was a complete reversal from the teams' first meeting on Feb.
27. Portland overcame an 11-point halftime deficit in that game by
outscoring the Spurs 33-16 in the third. The Blazers went on to win
by eight.
San Antonio led by nine at the half Thursday night and blew the
Blazers off their own floor in the next nine minutes. After Damon
Stoudamire's jumper to start the period, the Spurs went on an 11-0
run, with Danny Ferry scoring five.
Scottie Pippen hit a 3-pointer to stop the run, but two 3s from
Anderson, and a free throw by Duncan, capped an 12-4 spurt to push
the lead to 74-48 with 3:04 left.
"It was a real focus for us coming out of the locker room, to
not come out flat like we did last game and let them back into
it," Duncan said.
San Antonio missed 13 of its first 14 shots in the fourth,
letting the Blazers get within 80-67. But Wallace's tantrum
unraveled the comeback.
Game notes
San Antonio has won five straight by an average of 21
points. ... Wallace has averaged 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds over
his last four games, compared with 30.2 and 8.3 the previous six.
... Portland center Arvydas Sabonis did not dress because of a sore
right foot, and the Blazers won't take him to Vancouver for
Friday's game. ... The Spurs' Sean Elliott, who had played just 12
minutes his last three games, sat out the second half with pain in
his left knee.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
San Antonio Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Charlotte 97
Orlando 84
San Antonio 93
Portland 79
Houston 99
LA Clippers 87
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