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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- It was something Tim Duncan had never seen
before: his mild-mannered teammate David Robinson so enraged that he got thrown out of the game.
|  | | Rasheed Wallace tip-toes over Antonio Daniels of the Spurs. |
It was just the spark Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs needed.
Duncan scored eight of his 36 points in the final 3:16 after
Robinson was ejected as the Spurs rallied from 11 points down in
the fourth quarter to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 89-85 on
Tuesday night.
"I really thought I needed to make something happen when David
went out," said Duncan, who also had two blocks during the final
minutes. "And things went my way down the stretch."
Robinson, who hadn't been ejected since March 2, 1996 against
Philadelphia, was tossed for heatedly arguing an offensive foul
with the Spurs trailing 82-75. After being restrained by teammates
and referee Bill Spooner, Robinson stalked off the court and
watched the comeback from the locker room.
"I felt like I didn't have a date on New Year's Eve," Robinson said. "I was jumping around by myself in here."
Damon Stoudamire's free throw made it 83-75, but Duncan took over from there. His hook shot and Avery Johnson's 20-foot jumper,
followed by four free throws by Duncan, tied it at 83 with 1:18
left.
On the Spurs' next possession, Duncan was double-teamed but
still sank an off-balance 18-foot jumper to give the Spurs an 85-83
lead with 32.6 seconds left.
Two free throws by Mario Elie made it a four-point game with
26.4 seconds to go, and after Brian Grant's layup, Johnson was
fouled and made both free throws for an 89-85 lead with eight
seconds left.
Scottie Pippen's 3-point shot was far short as time ran out.
"This was a huge win for us," said Duncan, who added 15
rebounds. "David went out and really lit a fire under us. We knew
that David is usually a very quiet person. But he was out there and
he wanted to win."
Robinson scored 15 points and Johnson had 14 for the Spurs, who
won their fourth straight.
Pippen scored a season-high 25 points and Rasheed Wallace added
17 for the Blazers, who have lost four straight at home and six of
eight. Portland has its longest home losing streak since dropping
six straight from Jan. 29-Feb. 20, 1996.
"We have a lot of confidence, we just can't get a win right
now," said Pippen, whose team has lost eight of 14 overall.
Duncan played 47 minutes and made 13 of 21 shots. He also was 10-of-11 at the line.
The Blazers began the fourth quarter leading 66-61 and stretched it to 74-63 on a 3-pointer by Anthony. The Spurs began to chip at the lead on an 18-foot baseline jumper by Jerome Kersey, followed
by a three-point play by Duncan that cut the lead to 78-73 with
6:06 to go.
A 21-foot jumper by Wallace made it 82-75 Blazers, and the
momentum seemed to go Portland's way when Robinson was called for
the foul. He was so animated that Adams tossed him right away,
without issuing him a second technical foul that brings an
automatic ejection.
Coaches and players on both sides fumed over the officiating.
"You don't see David do that very often, and I thought it was
an appropriate response to what was going on," said Spurs coach
Gregg Popovich, who also had to be restrained by an assistant
coach.
Pippen tried to atone for the Blazers' slump by himself early
on, pushing the ball and attacking the Spurs' interior defense.
He hit two straight 21-foot jumpers, then a 3-pointer, and fed Detlef Schrempf for an easy hook shot to cap an 11-2 run to open the second quarter and put the Blazers ahead 26-22.
The lead changed hands five times after that, and Sean Elliott's 3-pointer from the corner broke a 38-all tie with 1:05 left. After a jam by Wallace on a lob from Schrempf, Elliott added two free throws for a 43-40 Spurs lead at halftime.
Game notes
Duncan had scored just 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting in his
previous two games against the Blazers this season. ... Portland's Jermaine O'Neal made his third straight start in place of Arvydas
Sabonis, who is on the injured list with a sprained right foot.
O'Neal, recovering from a strained lower back, scored just two
points in 12 minutes. ... Stoudamire again lost his matchup with
Johnson, who outscored him 14-7. In three games, Stoudamire has
been outscored by Johnson 47-22. ... Elliott made one of four
3-pointers and finished with five points in his eighth game back
from kidney transplant surgery.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
San Antonio Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Coach Gregg Popovich was pleased to see Robinson show some fire.
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