Trail-Blazers 99 - Knicks 91

By ANNE M. PETERSON, AP Sports Writer
February 18, 2003

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- While Rasheed Wallace scored the points, big man Arvydas Sabonis provided the energy.

Wallace scored 23 points and had eight rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers pulled away from the New York Knicks for a 99-91 victory Monday night.

But Sabonis -- who scored 10 points -- found himself an integral part of the Blazers' game plan down the stretch.

``He's such a good passer and tonight we wanted to get some offense from him,'' Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. ``We put Sabas in the game and we went to him. He doesn't always look for his offense, but tonight he hit some key shots for us.''

It was the Blazers' second straight win after losing the first two back from the All-Star break. Portland has won eight of its last 11.

The suddenly hot Knicks had opened their six-game road trip with wins at Phoenix and the Los Angeles Lakers. Allan Houston had a career-high and NBA-season best 53 points as the Knicks beat the Lakers 117-110 the night before.

Houston led the Knicks with 27 points, to average 35.3 points so far on the road trip. Kurt Thomas added 19 points and 12 rebounds.

``We were in good position to start this road trip, we just let this one slip away,'' Houston said. ``We didn't make the adjustments. They took us out of our plays and we never got into a rhythm offensively.''

Houston's 3-pointer closed the Knicks to 72-68 late in the third quarter, but the Blazers wouldn't let them get any closer the rest of the way.

Portland fiddled with combinations down the stretch, but seemed to have the most success with their 7-foot-3 Lithuanian center in the lineup.

Sabonis, who returned to the Blazers this season after taking last year off, pulled off a perfect behind-the-back pass to Derek Anderson, who hit a 3-pointer to make it 91-81 with 4:55 left.

``His touch is unbelievable,'' New York's Kurt Thomas said.

Portland, which defeated the Knicks 92-89 at Madison Square Garden earlier this season, has won four of the last five against New York.

The Knicks took their biggest lead of the game when Thomas' jumper made it 22-17. But the Blazers chipped away, taking a 24-22 lead on Wallace's 3-pointer.

Lee Nailon's layup brought the Knicks to 31-30 with 6:52 left in the first half, but the Blazers responded with a 10-2 run to take a 41-32 lead en route to a 47-42 halftime advantage.

Houston led New York's charge to start the second half, with a pair of jumpers to bring the Knicks to 47-46. Othella Harrington put the Knicks ahead with a layup that made it 48-47.

Bonzi Wells quickly put the Blazers back on top with a driving layup, but Portland was fighting off New York for the rest of the quarter and couldn't manage to stretch the lead by more than seven points.

``We weren't very sharp tonight and I guess, as always, we suffered the effects of last night's game,'' Knicks coach Don Cheney said. ``I thought thisgame was a winnable game had we been a little bit sharper.''

Notes

Trade rumors continue to swirl around both the Blazers and the Knicks as Wednesday's trade deadline loomed. The most talk was centered on whether New York would deal Latrell Sprewell. ``I can't speak for everybody, but I've tried to just focus on the road trip and keep us in good playoff position,'' Houston said about the distraction. ... Knicks reserve center Michael Doleac, who went to high school at Portland's Central Catholic, earned a warm round of applausewhen he entered the game.

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