Pippen Leads Rockets' Liftoff

Scottie Pippen showed up in the Houston Rockets offense at just the right time.

Pippen, struggling much of the season on offense, scored 18 of his season-high 31 points in a crucial third quarter and had six of Houston's 11 3-point goals, leading the Rockets to a 86-76 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.

"I was pretty hyped up today, this was a big game and this is a team we could see in the playoffs," Pippen said. "I just came out and played more aggressive. I wanted to play as aggressively on offense as I possibly could."

Pippen's big third quarter helped cut Portland's 41-38 halftime lead to a 64-63 Trail Blazers lead at the end of the third quarter. But Charles Barkley and Sam Mack quickly put the Rockets in the lead for good.

Portland tied it 65-65 with 7:21 to play, but Hakeem Olajuwon's jumper put the Rockets ahead 67-65. Barkley had three baskets and Mack a pair of 3-point goals in a 12-5 spurt that gave Houston breathing room.

"Obviously, this is one of the biggest wins of the year," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "I think our team played an inspired game. We played tremendous defense in the fourth quarter.

"Scottie was phenominal. He blocked shots, he passed, he rebounded. I said the other day there's going to be a breakthrough game for him and I hope this one is it."

Pippen had 13 first-half points that included three 3-pointers. He finished 6-for-11 on 3-point shooting. Pippen's six 3-pointes tied a career high accomplished five times.

The Rockets hit 11 of 27 3-point baskets and overcame Portland's balanced scoring, led by Damon Stoudamire with 19 points. Barkley finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds and nine assists. Brian Grant had 12 points and 16 rebounds.

"I think the No. 1 thing is he's got to take those threes," Barkley said. "I know he's not comfortable shooting them, but he's got to do it. That's what this offense is built around.

"I don't care about him missing, he's just got to shoot them."

The Trail Blazers hit 2-for-16 from 3-point range.

The Trail Blazers used a 9-0 spurt midway in the first quarter to jump from a 13-12 deficit to a lead they maintained most of the first half for a 41-38 lead at intermission.

"The first half, they got too many cheap baskets," Tomjanovich said. "The second half they got zero, which started making them work for it. If we could play that way all the time, we'd be tough."

The Rockets charged early in the second quarter with a 11-2 run that gave them a 31-27 lead with 6:08 to go in the half, but Portland came back with a 10-0 run that included two baskets each by r>Rasheed Wallace and Stoudamire.

"The Rockets played a great game and they got a huge performance from Scottie," Portland coach Mike Dunleavy said. "They have three guys in that locker room that know the importance of games around playoff time. They turned it up and got great games out of Charles and Scottie."

Notes

• Pippen had one of his best games in Houston's 101-93 victory over Portland on March 16 with 18 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
• Hakeem Olajuwon, with 25,158 career points, needs 35 points to move past Jerry West into 11th place on the career scoring list.
• The Trail Blazers have clinched their 17th consecutive playoff berth, tied for third best in NBA history with the Los Angeles Lakers and behind the Philadelphia 76ers (22) and Boston Celtics (19).
• Portland has surrendered 100 points only twice this season, once in a 105-100 double overtime loss to Golden State, and in their loss to the Rockets.
• The Trail Blazers have an 18-5 record when they outrebound their opponents. The outrebounded Houston 41-34.

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