Sabonis Celebrates But Doesn't Take Holiday

Wednesday was Independence Day in Lithuania. Arvydas Sabonis observed 
it by calling home to his parents, Andreus and Milda.

Then the 7-foot-3 center celebrated by collecting 20 points, 11 
rebounds

and four assists in the Trail Blazers' 99-95 victory over Golden State.

"It is a big day," said Sabonis, who paid homage with a worthy 
performance when his team needed it most.

At 35 and with creaky wheels, Sabonis is not going to be all-universe
every time out.

"I always tell people I would have loved to play with Sabonis at 25 
years old," point guard Damon Stoudamire said. "But I will take the 
one who is 35 any time."

Sabonis has been on a roll of late. In his previous two games, he 
scored 23 points on 9-for-9 shooting against the Los Angeles Clippers, 
and had 21 points and 16 rebounds in Oakland on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, he was "the fulcrum to the wheel," as Warriors coach 
Garry St. Jean put it. Portland coach Mike Dunleavy often ran his 
offense through Sabonis, using the Blazers' "45" play that has his 
big center on the low block, catching an entry pass and shooting or 
passing.

"You have to respect his ability to catch," St. Jean said. "It sounds 
simple, but it's not. Larry Bird, Magic, Kareem . . . when they got 
the ball down there, everything revolved around them. It's that way 
with Sabonis on this team, and I applaud Mike for using him."

The Blazers stumbled around much of the game -- they had a season- 
high 26 turnovers, many of them unforced -- and the frustration level 
was high.

When Rasheed Wallace's second-quarter dunk attempt bounced off the 
rim toward midcourt, Dunleavy knocked over a water cup -- fortunately, 
it was empty -- into the lap of broadcaster Brian Wheeler. Later, a 
disgruntled Bonzi Wells tossed his gum into the first row of the stands, 
onto the ice cream cup of a startled fan.

In the midst of the turmoil was Old Faithful. Down the stretch, 
Sabonis fed Stoudamire and Scottie Pippen for critical three-point 
baskets. He scored on a jump hook -- well, he didn't really jump. He 
took the ball away from Erick Dampier as the Warriors center tried to 
fool him with a move.

"Without Sabas, we had no chance," Dunleavy said. "He was aggressive, 
he finished, he got to the free-throw line. He anchored us, and forced 
them to double-team. He has been the guy for us the last three games."

Sabonis shrugged when asked about any heroics.

"I try every day to do the best that is possible," he said. "Of course,
I like to score, to be an important piece for us. It depends on the 
situation, though, and the coach's decisions."