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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The Portland Trail Blazers have finished
what amounted to an extended preseason. Now they're ready to take
on the Los Angeles Lakers.
|  | | Portland's Detlef Schrempf draws a foul from Raef LaFrentz. |
Steve Smith scored 22 points and Scottie Pippen had 18 as the
Blazers defeated the Denver Nuggets 95-83 Friday night for their
third straight easy victory.
The Blazers never really were threatened, but did struggle at
times against the Nuggets, especially inside. Antonio McDyess had four of Denver's seven blocks, and Portland's 19 turnovers kept
them from turning the game into a blowout.
"We didn't play very well tonight," Pippen said. "We had the
opportunity to build on our lead, but instead we let them back in
the game. We're still learning, and we have to learn to put teams
away."
Portland has won its games by an average of 18 points over
Vancouver, the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver -- teams that went a
combined 31-119 last season. On Saturday night, the Blazers play
host to the Lakers in an early showdown between the Pacific
Division's most talented teams.
"These three games were with teams that might not make the
playoffs," said Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis, who had 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. "Tomorrow is a real game, and then
we'll see what we've got."
Detlef Schrempf added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers.
Raef LaFrentz scored 17 points, Nick Van Exel had 16 and Ron
Mercer added 15 for the Nuggets, who committed 21 turnovers.
Portland led by as many as 24 in the third quarter, but two
straight 3-pointers by LaFrentz chipped away at the lead.
A 3-pointer by Van Exel and a basket by Ryan Bowen to start the
fourth quarter pulled Denver within 75-66, but that was as close as
the Nuggets would get.
"There is not much margin for error against the Blazers,"
Denver coach Dan Issel said. "To beat this team, you have to play
pretty much a perfect game."
In the third quarter, with Denver trailing 55-40, Blazers coach
Mike Dunleavy was yelling at the officials for calling too many
fouls against his team. Issel walked to midcourt, smiling, and told
him, "We've got to get every call to stay within 20."
The Nuggets, coming off a season-opening overtime victory
against Phoenix, shot just 25 percent in the second quarter and
trailed 49-32 at halftime.
Rasheed Wallace got the start at center for the Blazers, who
were trying to rest the 34-year-old Sabonis for Saturday night's
matchup against Shaquille O'Neal.
But Wallace quickly went into one of his pouting episodes after
he was called for a technical foul with four minutes left in the
first quarter. He left the game with 10:03 to go after picking up
his fifth foul. He finished with 2 points on 0-for-4 shooting in
just 16 minutes.
Sabonis, working hard and getting roughed up inside, played 21
solid minutes.
"The idea was, I was trying to see if we could play Sabas fewer
minutes tonight, and wasn't able to do it," Dunleavy said. "We
needed him in the second quarter."
McDyess was bothered again by a sprained right ankle, but he
still had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Game notes
Smith, acquired in a trade from Atlanta for his
shooting and consistent play, has scored 22 points in each of his
first three games with the Blazers. ... Portland shot a combined 58
percent in its first two games but just 47 Friday night. ...
LaFrentz looked good again in his second game back after
reconstructive surgery on his left knee. He added eight rebounds
three nights after getting 10 points, eight rebounds and five
blocks in the opener. ... The Nuggets shot 43 percent.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Denver Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 103
Charlotte 100
Toronto 112
New Jersey 92
Cleveland 104
Orlando 99
New York 103
Detroit 91
San Antonio 95
Houston 85
Miami 105
Chicago 87
Portland 95
Denver 83
LA Clippers 91
Philadelphia 81
Sacramento 100
Minnesota 95
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