Blazers not perfect, but best in West

By Jason Quick of The Oregonian staff 

They are limping, tired and injured, but the Portland Trail Blazers are 
heading into the All-Star Break exactly where they want to be: 

Leading the Western Conference.

The Blazers gasped to the first-half finish line on Wednesday, 
overcoming a sluggish start with a third-quarter flurry of three-
pointers to beat the Seattle SuperSonics 97-80 in front of 20,510 at the 
Rose Garden. 

The Blazers head into a five-day break with a 35-15 record and a 
two-game lead over Sacramento in the Pacific Division. They are.019 
percentage points ahead of Utah for the best record in the West and one 
game behind Philadelphia for the best record in the NBA. 

All that even though center Arvydas Sabonis has missed 18 games with a 
variety of ailments, Scottie Pippen has missed 14 games and counting 
with a bum elbow, Rasheed Wallace two games with a suspension, Bonzi 
Wells one game with a suspension and Steve Smith one game with the flu. 

"We've had some injuries, and I don't think any other team could have 
withstood the injuries like we have," said Smith, who finished with 19 
points. "But we still found a way to win games and have the best record 
in the West." 

The Blazers' casualty list nearly grew on Wednesday because of the 
uncertain status of Damon Stoudamire. He had a head cold and a sore 
groin and did not participate in the afternoon shootaround. 

But Stoudamire toughed it out and hit three three-pointers in the third 
quarter, including a panic-driven leaner to beat the shot clock, for a 
team-high 21 points. 

Smith also had a miracle three-pointer, lofting an arching shot over 
Patrick Ewing to beat the 24-second clock. It banked in with 19.2 
seconds left in the third quarter to give Portland a 65-58 lead and 
seemingly break the Sonics' spirit. 

"I called that one," Smith said, smiling. "It was a pretty lucky shot." 

It was the second game the Blazers played without Wallace, their leading 
scorer and All-Star forward, who served the final game of his two-game 
suspension for throwing a towel at a referee in last Thursday's win 
against Phoenix. 

Wallace will be the Blazers' lone All-Star representative Sunday in 
Washington, then will be eligible to play in the Blazers' next game, 
Tuesday at home against streaking Minnesota. 

Shawn Kemp started in place of Wallace, his second start of the season, 
and finished with six points on 3-of-10 shooting in 18 minutes. 

The Sonics (28-24) welcomed the return of All-Star guard Gary Payton, 
who sat out the last two games with an abdominal strain. Payton had 11 
points on 5-of-10 shooting, four assists and four turnovers. 

Forward Rashard Lewis led the Sonics with 21 points and Ewing had 11 
points and 11 rebounds. Vin Baker added 13 points on 5-of-20 shooting, 
his shots as wild as his angry discarding of his elbow brace into the 
Blazers bench after he was called for a second-quarter technical. 

Portland hit seven of its first 20 shots. Most of the attempts were long 
jumpers, and when the team did go inside, coach Mike Dunleavy pleaded to 
the referees that the Blazers were getting fouled. 

He pleaded so much that he was given a technical with 41.4 seconds left 
in the quarter after Sabonis missed a hook shot. 

Seattle led 20-18 at the end of the first quarter and went on a 9-0 run 
early in the second quarter to take a 33-25 lead, its largest of the 
half. 

The surge was keyed by the Sonics' offensive rebounding. At one point, 
the Sonics scored nine consecutive points on second-chance opportunities. 

Dunleavy said the Blazers needed to be shaken early to regain their 
vision. 

"Any time you're heading into a couple of days off, you worry about the 
focus," Dunleavy said. "I know we had some guys who had planes to catch 
tonight and I wanted to make sure they weren't thinking about catching 
them too early." 

The Blazers responded with a 16-3 run, which was capped by a three-point 
play by Bonzi Wells and a Smith free throw after Baker was called for 
the technical for arguing a non-call on the previous possession. 

The Blazers never seemed threatened in the second half, especially after 
Stoudamire stepped in front of a Payton pass and converted it into an 
uncontested layin that gave Portland a 47-41 lead. 

Portland has won seven of the last eight games with Seattle, and it 
avenged a 105-93 loss to the Sonics on Nov. 28, which was the first game 
since Nate McMillan replaced Paul Westphal as head coach. 

"We didn't forget about that," said Wells, who had 11 points. "We knew 
what they did to us last time." 

Notes: Wells rolled his left ankle and had to leave the game with 5:56 
left in the third quarter.. . . Dale Davis started at center and played 
35 minutes, scoring nine points and getting 13 rebounds. 

Sixth Man Sabonis

Dale Davis started at center last night while Arvydas Sabonis came off 
the bench, a lineup coach Mike Dunleavy said he will probably continue 
using. 

"It's a physical situation. I'm trying to watch his minutes the best I 
can," Dunleavy said of Sabonis. "I'm looking to keep him within a 24-26
 minute range." 

Dunleavy also feels the move gives him more flexibility in using Sabonis 
when he can be the most help. 

- John Hollinger