This win right up their alley

By Jason Quick of The Oregonian staff 


HOUSTON -- It was a volatile Trail Blazers team that stepped off the 
plane here Sunday evening, one that had suffered back-to-back 
defeats and one that was beginning to question itself as it arrived 
to play one of the hottest teams in the NBA. 

So to say Monday night was a do-or-die game is too strong, but the 
game against the Houston Rockets probably was somewhere between 
do-or-die and important. 

"We lose this game, and it gets ugly," guard Steve Smith said. 

So in another of the growing list of innovative moves made this 
season by Mike Dunleavy, the Portland coach took his team off the 
plane and straight to . . . a bowling alley. 

No practice. Just bowling. 

"It was good thinking," guard Bonzi Wells said. "For us at that 
time, after the Clippers loss, guys needed to just get out and let 
their hair down. It was a smart move." 

Not that picking up 7-10 splits has anything to do with stopping 
Rockets sensation Steve Francis, but the bowling certainly didn't 
hurt the Blazers on Monday. 

Portland avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season by 
overcoming a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Rockets 
95-89 at the Compaq Center. 

The Blazers (39-18) are one game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for 
first place in the Pacific Division and are .007 percentage points 
behind Utah for the best record in the Western Conference. 

Adding to the importance of Monday's win was knowing that today the 
Blazers play in San Antonio, which is just one game behind the 
Blazers in the race for the top record in the West. 

"We are trying to maintain our place in the standings for home-court 
advantage," Scottie Pippen said. "This game and the next game were 
two games that could have really put us way behind the 8-ball." 

Added Smith: "This was probably one of the most important wins of 
the year." 

Rasheed Wallace continued his torrid play since the All-Star break 
with 27 points, and Damon Stoudamire broke out of a shooting slump 
and had 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. 

Francis, the co-Rookie of the Year last season, had 14 points and 
nine assists for Houston (30-27), which had won four in a row and 
eight of nine. 

The Blazers trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and 
75-69 entering the fourth quarter. Wallace, who had 20 of his 27 
points in the second half, hit a long three-pointer to start the 
quarter and Smith gave the Blazers only their third lead of the game, 
81-79, when he hit a jumper off an inbound play with 6:07 to play. 

The back-breaker for Houston came when it had cut a seven-point 
deficit to 90-86 with 1:47 left. With the crowd going crazy and the 
shot clock winding down, Smith swished a three-pointer from the 
corner to put the game away. 

"I thought the three that Smitty hit was the dagger," Pippen said. 
"It was a big shot for us." 

Pippen, who was booed every time he touched the ball by fans who 
thought he was a flop in Houston during the 1998-99 season, had 10 
points, seven rebounds and six assists. Wells added 15 points, and 
Arvydas Sabonis and Smith had 11 points each. 

Dunleavy didn't want to take credit for his bowling tactic, but it 
can be added to a list of unconventional moves he has made this 
season. On Dec. 23, he stopped calling plays, letting the players 
run free on offense after the players spoke up at a team meeting 
that he was yelling at them too much and disrupting their creativity 
with his play calling. 

Then, on Jan. 1, he did not give the starting job back to Smith, who 
sat out one game with the flu. Smith, one of the most respected and 
decorated players on the team, was replaced by the 24-year-old Wells. 
Since the move, both players' numbers have improved. 

And now, the bowling alley. 

"You are always searching for things, but you never know if it is 
going to work," Dunleavy said. "If I knew it would work, then I 
would always do it." 

The Blazers played much of the first half down by at least 10 points. 
Again, the Blazers allowed an opponent to drive at will, which 
resulted in dunks, layups or four-foot shots in the lane. In the 
first half, the Rockets shot 59.5 percent. 

The difference in the second half is best described by Sabonis, the 
behemoth Lithuanian whose words are still thick with an accent: 

"Defense" Sabonis said, nodding his head once. "We come in at 
halftime and not believe what we need to do. But defense . . ."