Blazers Burn Spurs

The Portland Trail Blazers weren't looking for revenge. They were just looking to get back on the winning track after suffering consecutive losses for the first time this season.

The Trail Blazers did just that in impressive fashion Wednesday night as they stopped Tim Duncan's double-figure scoring streak at 61 games in a 105-95 win over the San Antonio Spurs 105-95.

"This was the performance we were looking for after two subpar performances in Texas," Portland coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We got a big night from Rasheed Wallace and moved the ball very well on offense."

Portland improved its record to 29-10, second best in the NBA, and San Antonio slipped to 25-15.

"Portland is one heck of a team, very talented," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "Our defense played better in the second half, but we got ourselves in a hole."

If the Blazers wanted to make a statement against the defending champs, it came across loud and clear. Rebounding from losses in Dallas and Houston, Portland never trailed and held a double-figure lead most of the second half.

"We need to play with this kind of urgency every night," Blazers guard Damon Stoudamire said.

Wallace scored 22 points, 16 in the first half, and did the bulk of the defensive work against Duncan, who scored just nine after coming into the game with a 24.8 scoring average.

"We wanted to make him have to work," Dunleavy said. "You have to track him in transition and look for him to be running the floor. You have to get your bumps in and don't give him any easy baskes."

Duncan hit just 2-of-9 from the field in 38 minutes and had only six rebounds. He did not connect on his first field goal until dropping in a jump hook from the corner with 8:06 remaining.

"I have to give a lot of credit to Portland," Duncan said. "They didn't let me get my rhythm tonight. Portland played great. It's tough to make shots when you don't have space to work with."

Spurs guard Antonio Daniels added: "They were coming at him right from the catch. He couldn't even touch the ball."

Wallace hit seven of his first nine shots in the first half to lead a balanced Blazers attack. Arvydas Sabonis added 17 points, Bonzi Wells 12 and Detlef Schrempf 11.

David Robinson led the Spurs with 29 points and 12 rebounds and Avery Johnson added 18. But Johnson, the Spurs point guard, had just one assist.

The Spurs made a late charge when they trimmed a 17-point fourth-quarter lead to five with about three minutes left. But after Horace Grant snared a key offensive rebound, Scottie Pippen swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:57 left to increase the lead to 98-90.

"This is just one game so I wouldn't say it was a statement game," Pippen said. "We know they are the world champions and have a lot of pride. They will come back hard the next time we face them."

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