Portland 83, Sacramento 81
Trail Blazers Sting Kings
http://www.nba.com/games/20040312/SACPOR/recap.html
PORTLAND, Ore., March 12 (Ticker) -- Chris Webber and the Sacramento
Kings became the second straight division leader to come up short
against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Webber's tying follow shot came just after the final buzzer as the
Pacific Division-leading Kings fell to the Trail Blazers, 83-81.
Zach Randolph collected 17 points and 14 rebounds and Theo Ratliff added
11, 11 and eight blocks for Portland, which edged Midwest Division-leading
Minnesota on Wednesday, 92-79.
"That could have been the most entertaining game I've ever been a part
of," said Portland coach Maurice Cheeks, who won an NBA title with the
Philadelphia 76ers in 1983.
"It's the biggest win of the year," Randolph said. "But it don't mean
nothing if we don't keep it up."
Damon Stoudamire scored 20 points to pace the Trail Blazers, who are 2-0
in a five-game stretch against likely playoff-bound opponents.
The Trail Blazers remained two games behind Denver for the eighth and
final Western Conference playoff berth.
"I think this shows that we're not going to give up on this season,"
Cheeks said. "It's not over until we're mathematically eliminated. These
were two important home games and I think we were the only ones who
believed we would win."
Sacramento, which trailed by 14 points with just over a minute left in
the third quarter, tied the contest, 81-81, on a reverse layup by Mike
Bibby with 2:02 remaining before Randolph countered with a pull-up jumper
inside the foul line with 1:36 left.
Ratliff, who came up with a block on a layup attempt by Bibby with 1:12
remaining, grabbed an offensive rebound with 33 seconds left before Stoudamire
missed a jumper with 13 seconds to play.
After racing downcourt, Doug Christie missed a 3-pointer from the top of
the arc but Peja Stojakovic chased down the rebound and threw the ball
from over the back right side of the backboard. Webber caught the ball
and in one motion laid it in off the glass, but it came after time expired.
"I kinda knew in my heart that it wasn't good," Webber said. "That lob
took a little longer than we wanted it to. Peja hits that in H-O-R-S-E,
though."
"I thought we had a couple guys open," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "We
tried to get a good look, Doug had a good look. It's one of those things
where you gotta improvise. I thought we had a chance because they weren't
set."
Portland held a 55-50 edge midway through the third quarter before embarking
on an 8-0 run. The Trail Blazers took their biggest lead, 67-53, on a
alley-oop dunk by Ruben Patterson with 1:17 remaining in the period.
The Kings trailed, 69-58, after three quarters but scored the first nine
points of the fourth period. They tied the game, 75-75, with 5:56 left on
the second of consecutive 3-pointers by Anthony Peeler.
"You can just tell how good Sac is," said Portland forward Darius Miles,
who had 13 points. "We were just doing everything on them and they still
came back and tied the game up."
Stojakovic had 18 points and Webber 16 for the Kings, who had won 18 of
their previous 22 games.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kings fall to Trail Blazers 83-81
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/
8494992p-9427239c.html
Published 9:39 p.m. PST Friday, March 12, 2004
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Theo Ratliff had 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight
blocked shots to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 83-81 victory
over the Kings on Friday night.
It was the Blazers' second straight victory after losing five of their
previous six. Portland, trying to extend its streak of 21 consecutive
playoff appearances, remained two games behind eighth-place Denver.
Damon Stoudamire had 20 points and Zach Randolph added 17 points and 14
rebounds.
The Western Conference-leading Kings trailed by as many as 14 points but
came back in the final quarter and tied it 75 on Anthony Peeler's 3-pointer
with 5:56 left. Mike Bibby's layup with 2:02 left tied it again at 81
before Randolph hit a jumper and Ratliff blocked an attempt by Bibby.
Doug Christie missed a 3-point attempt as time ran out.
The Kings got their fourth-quarter energy boost despite playing the second
of back-to-back games. They beat Dallas 120-102 on Thursday night to briefly
match Indiana for the league's best record.
The Kings' Chris Webber had 16 points playing in his sixth game since he
was activated from the injured list on Feb. 16. Peja Stojakovic had 18
points and nine rebounds for the Kings.
Randolph was 0-for-6 from the floor before his jumper put the Blazers up
18-17 in the first quarter. The Blazers extended the lead to as many as
eight points and were ahead 45-41 at the break.
The Blazers took a 61-50 third-quarter lead when Ratliff blocked Stojakovic
and Darius Miles took the ball downcourt for an alley-oop dunk. The move
made Portland coach Maurice Cheeks shout "Unbelievable!"
Ruben Patterson's dunk following another block by Ratliff -- this one of
Brad Miller -- put Portland up 67-53.
Notes: The Kings signed guard Rodney Buford for the rest of the season
Friday. Buford, a fourth-year pro playing for his fifth NBA team, is
averaging 1.5 points in 13 games for the Kings. He made the Kings' roster
out of training camp, but was cut after playing just six games. ...
Randolph has 37 double-doubles this season.
-- Associated Press
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