ESPN Network: ESPN.com | NFL.com | NBA.com | NHL.com | NASCAR | WNBA.com | ABCSports | EXPN | FANTASY | INSIDER

  Scores/Schedules
  Standings
  Statistics
  Transactions
  Injuries
  Players
  Message Board
  NBA StatSearch
  NBA en espaņol
Clubhouses





Saturday, Dec. 9 10:00pm ET
Wallace sits out with sprained wrist

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The Portland Trail Blazers kept Jerry Stackhouse in check Saturday night. They really shut down his supporting cast.

Damon Stoudamire
With Rasheed Wallace out of the lineup, Damon Stoudamire scored 21 to lead Portland on Saturday.

Damon Stoudamire scored 21 points and Steve Smith added 19 as the Trail Blazers beat the Detroit Pistons 114-83 without leading scorer Rasheed Wallace, who sprained his right wrist in Friday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Arvydas Sabonis added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers, who never trailed.

Stackhouse scored 26 points to lead the Pistons, who shot just 36 percent from the field and committed 25 turnovers. Only two other Pistons scored in double figures -- Mikki Moore had 16 points and Billy Owens 10.

"As long as Stack works for his points, it's going to be hard for one person to beat our team," Stoudamire said. "We made him work for his points, and nobody else was able to get off tonight."

The Blazers coasted through the second half, starting off the third quarter with a 12-2 that increased their lead to 67-36.

Portland's lead never dipped below 27 points in the third quarter, and the team didn't have to worry about the foul trouble its big men got into in the first half.

"They kind of rocked us on our heels," Detroit coach George Irvine said. "I guess they should keep Rasheed out of the lineup."

Portland opened the game with a 14-2 spurt, as Shawn Kemp hit a pair of outside shots and Stoudamire's pull-up jumper with 7:12 left in the first quarter forced Detroit to call a timeout.

The Blazers pushed their lead to 26-7 after Stacey Augmon stole a loose ball from Stackhouse, and Stoudamire hit a layup with 3:29 left in the quarter.

After failing to contain Allen Iverson and the 76ers on Friday, the Blazers tightened their defense against Detroit, using a combination of Scottie Pippen, Smith and Augmon early on to pressure Stackhouse, who entered the game second in the league with a 28.1 scoring average.

Pippen and Kemp each had four of the Blazers' season-high 17 steals.

"We knew we had to put pressure on Stackhouse," Portland coach Mike Dunleavy said. "He got his points but he had to work hard to get them."

Stackhouse finished the first half with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting, and the Pistons made only 14 of their 22 free throw attempts.

"It kind of got away from us in the first quarter," Stackhouse said. "We were playing from more than 10 points behind and we never really got into a rhythm.

"We didn't have it tonight. This was our worst game of the year by far."

Sabonis hit four straight free throws to give Portland a 45-25 lead with 6:21 left in the first half. But he picked up his third foul before halftime and joined Dale Davis -- whose third foul was a technical for arguing a call -- on the sideline.

On the next play, though, Pippen passed inside to Will Perdue (three fouls in the half), who passed to Bonzi Wells for a three-point play that made it 53-31.

Game notes
Detroit placed forward Jerome Williams on the injured list with a sprained right ankle. The Pistons activated Brian Cardinal, a rookie from Purdue, who made his debut in the first quarter. ... The Blazers' 32 points in the third quarter set a season high. ... Portland's 114 points were the most since it beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-100 on April 18 last season. ... Stackhouse has scored 24 or more points in three of the last four games. He scored 11 points in a 91-83 loss to Vancouver last week.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Detroit Clubhouse

Portland Clubhouse

RECAPS
Indiana 99
Charlotte 96

Cleveland 97
Atlanta 90

New York 96
Denver 88

Minnesota 85
LA Clippers 73

Milwaukee 99
Washington 91

San Antonio 105
Chicago 81

Utah 125
Golden State 114

Portland 114
Detroit 83

Houston 111
Seattle 104

Philadelphia 83
Vancouver 79

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Jerry Stackhouse Official Site

Mike Dunleavy Official Site


ESPN.com:  HELP |  ADVERTISER INFO |  CONTACT US |  TOOLS |  SITE MAP
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.