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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- After two straight starts, Bonzi Wells is
beginning to look and sound like a veteran.
|  | | Although Bonzi Wells started and excelled in place of an ill Steve Smith on Monday, Smith managed to play 22 minutes and scored six. |
Wells scored 16 points in just 25 minutes and Rasheed Wallace
grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers
beat the Charlotte Hornets 89-67 Monday night.
It was the first time Wells started in consecutive games.
"It's a little different starting; I've got to pace myself a
little bit and can't go all out too early," Wells said. "I'm
playing a little more and I'm figuring out what I can and can't do.
I'm starting to get more comfortable.
Wells got the assignment in place of Steve Smith, who is
recovering from the flu, and added seven rebounds.
"Steve's just sick," Wells said. "I'm just lucky to get the
start. It's Steve's job."
Wallace and Damon Stoudamire each scored 12 points as the
Blazers won their season-best fifth straight game.
Jamal Mashburn and David Wesley each scored 12 for Charlotte,
which shot just 33 percent from the field and managed only 12
points in each of the first and third quarters.
P.J. Brown added four points and 13 rebounds and Baron Davis,
Lee Nailon and Otis Thorpe each scored 10 for the Hornets.
"We hit 30 percent and that won't beat any team," Charlotte
coach Paul Silas said. "They played good defense, trapped in the
post and stopped our offense. We had good looks at the hoop, but
Portland just played good defense."
After Charlotte scored the first six points of the second half,
Portland put the game away in the third quarter. Stoudamire hit a
jumper with 9:28 left, and Wells added two layups to put
Portland up 54-43.
"That was a big win. Just to hold them down the way we did -- no
one has really done that to them this year," Stoudamire said.
"This is what we talk about, coming in and not giving them life.
That's what we want to do."
Wallace added a dunk and Wells made two free throws as the
Blazers took a 67-49 lead into the fourth quarter. Portland made it
80-59 on Greg Anthony's jump shot with 5:56 left.
"It was a tough game, they just missed their shots. We got
after them defensively," Wells said. "We've got to go out and
exploit matchups."
The Blazers used Wells to do that, mostly against Wesley and
Davis.
Portland built a 17-8 lead in the first as Wells hit a nifty
layup and was fouled with 8:39 left. He then hit another layup and
found Rasheed Wallace for an alley-oop as the Blazers went on an
11-2 run.
The Hornets struggled in the quarter but Portland only took a
19-12 lead into the second period.
Anthony gave the Blazers a 22-12 lead with a jumper and two free throws, and the advantage expanded to 30-18 lead.
Charlotte got within 35-30 when Brown completed a 3-point play
and Wesley drove in for an uncontested finger roll with 3:11 left.
But Wells hit two free throws, and Scottie Pippen and
Stoudamire hit back-to-back 3-pointers as the Blazers outscored the
Hornets 13-7 down the stretch and took a 48-37 lead by halftime.
Pippen finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
"This is a great win, because we took them out of the game,"
Pippen said. "We just played really good basketball. We didn't
give them any life or let them back into the game."
After losing close games to Sacramento and Seattle, the Hornets
lost by their largest margin of victory, but Silas snapped at a
reporter who questioned his substitutions.
"I'm going up against teams with 50, 60-million dollar
payrolls, and I've got one with a $30 million payroll.
Realistically, we shouldn't be able to compete against those guys,
but we are," he said. "You need to give me some credit."
Game notes
Charlotte center Elden Campbell missed his third straight
game with an injured elbow. Otis Thorpe again got the start. ...
Wallace was whistled for his league-leading 17th technical foul for
arguing a no call with 9:03 left in the first quarter. ... After
missing the Blazers' 104-81 win over Vancouver on Friday, Smith
entered in the final minute of the first half and played 22
minutes, scoring six points. ... Wallace's previous career best in
rebounds came in 1998 when he grabbed 16 against Vancouver. ... The
Hornets lost by their largest margin of the season. They were
beaten by Philadelphia 95-74 on Dec. 1.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Charlotte Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 106
Houston 96
Portland 89
Charlotte 67
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Mike Dunleavy Official Site
Baron Davis Official Site
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