| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Portland's slide turned into a
slump Wednesday night.
|  | | Keith Van Horn and the Nets kept the Blazers guessing throughout the game. |
Coming off their most lopsided loss of the season, the Trail
Blazers were maybe even worse against the New Jersey Nets. Playing
with a lack of energy and cohesiveness, they lost 115-103 to the
11th-place team in the East.
"Not much good to say at all," Portland coach Mike Dunleavy
said. "From the very start of the game defensively we were soft
and slow to react, and it put us behind. We have a lot of work to
do. Teams go through slides at time, and we have to get ourselves
back under control, play smart and play with more of a purpose."
Portland, coming off a 19-point loss to Toronto, fell behind for
good less than six minutes into the first quarter, trailed by 14 at
halftime and by as many as 25 in the third quarter to lose for the
third time in four games -- making this the Blazers' worst stretch
of the season.
Stephon Marbury, playing with a pass-first mentality, led New
Jersey with 24 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. Jamie Feick
had 16 points, Kerry Kittles and Keith Van Horn added 15 apiece and Kendall Gill had 14.
Rasheed Wallace had 19 and Arvydas Sabonis added 16 for the
Blazers.
After being tied with the Lakers for the league's best record
just over a week ago, the Blazers (46-14) are now 3½ games behind
Los Angeles in the Pacific Division.
What has gone wrong?
"What has gone right?" Smith asked. "It's not just this loss,
it's the last two or three. We haven't been through this kind of
streak, but it's not something we can't get through. It might not
start tomorrow, but we want to get it better and make a run for the
end."
Portland's four-games-in-five-nights road trip only gets tougher
Thursday with a game at Indiana, where the Pacers have won 24 in a
row.
Portland will be trying to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season. The Blazers have had three two-game skids.
"The only reason people consider it a slump is because people
expect us to go out there and win every night," Wallace said.
"But you can't win them all."
Marbury had eight assists before he even scored a point, and
Kittles scored 13 points in the first quarter as the Nets quickly
moved ahead. The Blazers were a step slow of defense and out of
sync at other times, three times losing the ball out of bounds
while fighting among themselves for a rebound.
The Nets took their first 18-point lead on a three-point play by
Gill to make it 59-41 with 1:50 left in the second quarter, and the
lead reached 22 when Marbury banked in a 3-pointer as the 24-second
clock expired midway through the third.
Marbury laughed as he backpedaled downcourt, and Portland point
guard Damon Stoudamire could only smirk and shake his head as he
realized it was going to be one of those rare poor nights for a
team that had spent most of the season atop the overall NBA
standings.
The only thing that kept Portland somewhat close by halftime was
the play of Sabonis, who shot 7-for-10 and scored 16 points while
the Blazers' other starters combined to shoot just 6-for-25.
But instead of coming out fired up for the third quarter, the
Blazers remained flat and trailed 94-70 entering the fourth quarter
after Feick hit a 22-foot jumper at the third-quarter buzzer.
The Nets went ahead 108-82 in the fourth quarter before Portland
used an 11-0 run to make the final score somewhat more respectable.
Feick hit consecutive 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter on
his first attempts from behind the arc this season.
"This was the epitome of a team effort," Van Horn said. "You
know things are going well when Jamie Feick hits two 3-pointers."
Game notes
Nets center Jayson Williams took a strength test Wednesday
morning on his injured right leg and was cleared to begin
full-scale practices. He has been sidelined since last April 1 when
he broke his leg in a collision with Marbury. ... Wallace picked up
his league-leading 24th technical foul. Referee Steve Javie nailed
him for taunting after a dunk. ... The Nets are 23-23 since their
abysmal 2-13 start. ... Portland had its five-game road winning
streak snapped. ... The Blazers dropped to 22-4 against sub-.500
teams. ... New Jersey was just the eighth Portland opponent to
reach 100 points. ... Feick hit consecutive 3-pointers late in the
fourth quarter. They were his first attempts from behind the arc
this season.
| |
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Portland Clubhouse
New Jersey Clubhouse
Eleven months after breaking leg, Nets' Williams ready to return
RECAPS
Boston 112
Milwaukee 101
Philadelphia 107
Vancouver 90
Washington 118
New York 113
Detroit 130
Denver 116
New Jersey 115
Portland 103
Orlando 103
Chicago 67
Toronto 95
LA Clippers 94
Sacramento 105
Charlotte 92
|
