Rasheed Wallace had 23 points and
11 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers withstood a dry spell
in the third quarter and a streaky Philadelphia 76ers team to
post a 108-90 victory that closed out the century.
Steve Smith scored 20 points and Bonzi Wells added a career-high
16 for the Trail Blazers, who extended their winning streak to
four games and won their fourth in a row at home.
"We started out playing the way we wanted to play," Portland
coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Letting them back in was
disappointing but you have got to give them credit. They are a
team that can make some plays. I thought they fought their way
back in the game even though we did get ourselves into some
lulls."
Allen Iverson scored 32 points for Philadelphia, which erased a
25-point second-quarter deficit but was denied its fourth
straight win. The 76ers went 3-1 on their four-game western
trip.
Larry Brown, who notched his 700th coaching win Wednesday at
Golden State, was ejected at the end of the first half after
arguing calls with Hank Armstrong.
"We never got to the line in the first half, and we had
everybody in foul trouble," Brown said. "We had a horrendous
start. But they (the Blazers) had so much to do with it."
Assistant John Calipari took over and watched the 76ers come all
the way back.
Iverson capped a 19-1 run with two free throws to tie the game
at 63-63 with 2:57 remaining in the third period. But the
Blazers, who went almost eight minutes without a basket, closed
the quarter with an 11-0 burst featuring two 3-pointers by
Scottie Pippen and one by Wallace for a 78-66 advantage.
"The big thing for us, of course, was those back-to-back 3s by
Scottie," Dunleavy said. "He pulled up and drained them. They
were really big shots. They are like a dagger in the heart."
"We should never have really let them get back into it," said
Pippen, who finished with 13 points. "We had too much patience
early in the third quarter but we held our composure, battled
back and got ourselves back in the game."
The closest the Sixers got the rest of the way was 84-78 on a
three-point play by Snow and a conversion by Iverson on a
technical foul shot with 6:56 left. However, Wells scored and
Wallace had a three-point play as Portland was never threatened
thereafter.
"Defensively we stepped up when the score was tied at 63," Smith
said. "At the end of the the third quarter, Pip hit a couple of
3s. Greg (Anthony) got a couple of free throws when he drove
the lane and (Wallace) 3-pointer really pumped us up in the
fourth quarter and we came out and played a little more
aggressive."
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