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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Rasheed Wallace led the
Portland Trail Blazers in scoring, but the play of reserve Dale
Davis drew most of the praise.
|  | | Portland's Damon Stoudamire eyes the basket over Mike Bibby. |
Davis had 18 points and 15 rebounds as Portland beat the
Vancouver Grizzlies 100-87 Thursday night for its 50th victory of
the season.
"Dale did a good job of coming in and controlling the glass for
us and making good plays," Portland coach Mike Dunleavy said.
"Because we established some of our other guys, that put him in
position to make some, to get some good shots for him."
Rebounding was the key in the Portland win. The Blazers
outrebounded Vancouver 55-33, including a 19-5 advantage on the
offensive glass.
"This is a team that has beaten us twice, and both times they
beat us on the boards," said Davis, who played 29 minutes.
"Tonight, we made a conscious effort coming out there and really
hit the boards."
With the win, the Blazers moved into fifth place in the Western
Conference, a half-game ahead of Dallas.
Mike Bibby, who didn't practice Wednesday because of a leg
injury, led Vancouver with 24 points and eight assists. Bryant
Reeves scored 16.
Vancouver failed for the fourth straight game to earn its
franchise-record 23rd win of the season.
"Their offensive rebounds really hurt us," said Reeves, who
had three rebounds. "I thought we did a good job initially on
their offense, but those second shots, if you give up that many
it's going to kill you and that's what happened."
Portland's reserves outscored their Vancouver counterparts
42-16.
Portland seized control of the game in the third quarter. The
Blazers scored six straight points to start the period and opened a
49-39 advantage.
Portland built its lead to 18 points by the end of the period
and led 74-56 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Wallace was also praised by his coach.
"We worked the boards really hard with offensive rebounds,"
Dunleavy said. "And we took the ball to the rim and got to the
free throw line. We established Rasheed in the low post. I thought
he played really well. He mixed up his game. That's the kind of
play we really need from him."
The Blazers had lost twice to the Grizzlies.
"They already made a statement to us," said Steve Smith, who
finished with two points and six rebounds. "We were just trying to
come in and get us a win and get ready for the playoffs."
Damon Stoudamire agreed.
"We really just did what we're supposed to do," Stoudamire
said. "We've let them gain a lot of confidence playing against us.
But we came out and did what we were supposed to do. We picked up
our defense in the second half and made a lot of open shots and
that was the key."
Game notes
The Grizzlies were without Michael Dickerson, who sat out
the game with a left abdominal strain. ... Vancouver's overall
record over six seasons fell to 100-357. ... With the win, Portland
evened its season series against the Grizzlies at 2-2.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Portland Clubhouse
Vancouver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Charlotte 88
New Jersey 78
Milwaukee 115
Utah 93
Orlando 101
Philadelphia 77
Sacramento 107
San Antonio 105
Portland 100
Vancouver 87
LA Lakers 119
Minnesota 102
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