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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Tim Thomas found his 3-point touch in the
second half, so much so that he set an NBA record and nearly
snapped the Portland Trail Blazers' longest win streak of the
season.
Thomas hit eight 3-pointers in the second half, breaking the old
record of seven, but Steve Smith scored 26 points as the Blazers
held off the Bucks 119-115 Friday night for their seventh straight
win.
Bonzi Wells started his fourth straight game and added 25 points
for the Blazers, who had a season-high 32 assists, including a
career-best seven from Rasheed Wallace, who also had seven rebounds
and 14 points.
Thomas hit eight of 10 3-pointers, most of them wide open off
screens and switches, and scored a career-high 39 points for the
Bucks. Glenn Robinson added 26 points and Sam Cassell had 22 and 10
assists.
"We knew their big three -- Cassell, Robinson and Ray Allen -- were going to come in and do a lot of scoring," Wells said. "We
just kind of forgot about Tim Thomas a little bit."
Thomas made them remember as the Bucks cut Portland's 10-point
halftime lead to five in the fourth quarter. But the Blazers hit 10
free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
"I was coming up and I was wide open," Thomas said. "You're
taught when you're 3 years old to shoot the ball if you're open.
"We got back into the game. We had a shot. It was great to
break a record or tie a record or whatever, but it would have been
nice to win."
Portland took a 107-98 lead when Damon Stoudamire found a
streaking Wells with a no-look pass for a dunk with 2:00 left.
Thomas made it interesting by hitting his seventh 3-pointer of
the game to cut the lead to 109-103, but Stoudamire was fouled by
Thomas with 1:15 left, prompting Milwaukee coach George Karl to
smash a water bottle on press row for his second technical of the
game.
Smith hit the free throw, and Stoudamire hit one of his two to
give Portland a 111-103 lead.
"With that last call, I thought the game was over," Karl said.
"At that time, I didn't think we could overcome that six-point
lead. So I lost it."
Thomas came down and hit his final 3 of the game to cut the lead
to 111-106, but the Bucks were forced to foul, and Portland knocked
down eight of 10 free throws.
"We will work tomorrow on our switches," Portland coach Mike
Dunleavy said. "We just made mistakes in our coverage. We were
fine trading two for two, we just can't trade three for two. That's
what we were doing that allowed them to draw closer."
The Bucks came out after halftime gunning 3-pointers. Milwaukee
tied the game at 68 on Robinson's jumper with 4:15 left, and
Thomas' fourth 3-pointer pulled the Bucks to 72-71.
But Portland went on an 11-5 run, taking advantage of
Milwaukee's double-teams to find the open shooter.
"We know what we have to do," Thomas said. "For us to be in a
dogfight with them was great. Now we know what we have to do next
time we face them."
Wallace hit a pair of long jump shots, Arvydas Sabonis had four
points inside and Dale Davis had two jumpers as the Blazers went up
24-14 and held the Bucks scoreless for 2:26.
Scottie Pippen held Robinson in check in the opening quarter,
and Wallace ended the quarter with a rebound basket after
Stoudamire missed a jumper to put Portland up 30-22.
The Blazers pushed their lead to 40-26 as Shawn Kemp scored four
of his 10 second-quarter points and Smith had two.
Allen picked up his third foul with 8:41 left, but Cassell
picked up the slack, scoring eight points down the stretch.
Cassell scored on a slick layup, and Robinson hit four free
throws and a hook shot as Milwaukee cut the lead to 52-42 by
halftime.
Portland shot 62 percent from the field and went to the line 43
times, converting on 34, to spoil Thomas' performance.
"It's just great they didn't win the game," Scottie Pippen
said. "An individual performance is only great if you go out and
walk away with the victory."
Game
notes
Milwaukee had won 10 of its
last 12 games going into Friday's game. ... Allen tied the team
record for consecutive appearances by playing in his 328th
consecutive game. Lee Mayberry set the record, playing every game
from 1992 to 1996. ... Scott Williams left the game after banging
knees with Greg Anthony in the second quarter and did not return.
... Karl received a technical with 8:49 left in the fourth quarter,
just after Wallace got one for arguing a no-call.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 121
Seattle 89
Dallas 115
Toronto 105
Golden State 100
Boston 88
Denver 100
Utah 87
Phoenix 108
Vancouver 76
Portland 119
Milwaukee 115
Charlotte 86
LA Clippers 73
Indiana 93
Sacramento 91
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
George Karl Official Site
Mike Dunleavy Official Site
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