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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- In just a few minutes, Scottie Pippen showed why the Portland Trail Blazers gladly gave up six players to
get him.
|  | | Portland's Damon Stoudamire makes Eric Murdock's triup upcourt more difficult. |
Damon Stoudamire had 23 points and nine assists and Pippen shrugged off a slow start to score 22 Wednesday night as the
Portland Trail Blazers cruised past the Los Angeles Clippers
121-98.
"It was just one of those nights where, in the first half, they
didn't need my scoring," said Pippen, who had just three points at
halftime but scored 16 in the third. "I just tried to contribute
in other ways."
Pippen bailed out of Houston because he was frustrated with the
Rockets' plodding halfcourt offense, but appeared to be back in his
element Wednesday night, running the floor and finishing the fast
break like his old Chicago days.
Stoudamire is no Michael Jordan, but he did what he does best -- pulling up for short, uncontested jumpers and weaving around defenders near the basket for difficult bank shots.
"My job is a lot easier on this team," said Stoudamire, who
has let Pippen and Steve Smith shoulder some of the point guard duties so he can do more scoring. "You can see how I'm benefiting
from the players we have."
All five starters scored in double figures for the Blazers, who
shot 61 percent from the field for their second straight easy
victory. Portland, expected to challenge San Antonio for the
Western Conference title, beat Vancouver by 20 Tuesday night.
Smith scored 22 points, center Arvydas Sabonis had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Greg Anthony added 15 points.
Clippers rookie Lamar Odom was again impressive, scoring 23 points one night after getting 30 points and 12 rebounds in a loss
to Seattle. Odom, who was guarded by Pippen most of the night, was
just 5-of-17 from the floor but made 12 of 14 free throws.
"We didn't want Odom to get off lightly," Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy said.
Odom, 19, was slightly star-struck playing against Pippen.
"That was cool, real cool," Odom said. "You've got to come out of the state of being in awe. After I settled down, it was a great matchup. I learned so much from watching him play, how to always move."
Maurice Taylor added 22 points and Derek Anderson had 16.
During pregame introductions punctuated with fireworks and
columns of shooting flames, the sellout crowd of 20,584 cheered
loudest for Pippen, who came to Portland in a trade for Walt
Williams, Kelvin Cato, Stacey Augmon, Ed Gray, Carlos Rogers and
Brian Shaw.
Playing with a sprained left index finger, Pippen was short on his early shots, but got hot when the Blazers began to run in transition. He scored 12 points in the first 5:10 of the third, when the Blazers stretched an eight-point lead to 92-78 entering the fourth
His leaping rebound, followed by a drive to the basket and free throw, gave the Blazers a 90-74 lead with 1:32 left.
The Clippers, who already look much-improved over the team that
finished 9-41 last season, trailed only 48-44 at one point the
first half but gradually wore down.
Stoudamire scored 17 in the first half as Portland took a 59-51 lead.
"We did some good things tonight, even though we couldn't keep
up with them," Clippers coach Chris Ford said.
Game notes
Clippers center Michael Olowokandi was held to eight points and just one rebound. ... Portland, passing the ball much better
than last year, had 32 assists to just eight for the Clippers. ...
The Blazers have won 10 of their last 11 against the Clippers. ...
Los Angeles was one of only three teams to beat the Blazers in the
Rose Garden in 25 games last season; Utah and San Antonio were the
others.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
LA Clippers Clubhouse
Portland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 112
Washington 101
Cleveland 97
New Jersey 90
Orlando 103
Detroit 94
New York 84
Chicago 74
Portland 121
LA Clippers 98
LA Lakers 103
Vancouver 88
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