Newsgroup: it.sport.americani
Titolo: Back-to-Back Blazers





WASHINGTON (AP)—In the NBA, the best time to catch 
a team at its most vulnerable is when it's playing games on back-to-back nights 
on the opposite side of the country. Rasheed Wallace slams it home for two of 
his 17 points on the night.


 


Not the Portland Trail Blazers. 


 


The Blazers went 6-1 this season on the second 
nights of back-to-backs on the road against Eastern Conference teams. They 
wrapped up their travels East with a win at Detroit on Saturday and a 102-86 
victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday. 


 


"We shouldn't have problems with back-to-backs," 
Portland forward Detlef Schrempf said. "Because we've got a lot of guys who can 
play." 


 


Do they ever. The Trail Blazers have won more than 
75 percent of their games, yet they have no players ranked in the league's top 
40 in scoring or in minutes. They are as balanced as a team can be. 



 


"We do need some of our guys to have consistently 
good nights," coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We don't need somebody to have a great 
night." 


 


Sunday night's victory was a perfect example. 
Portland jumped to an early lead and did just enough the rest of the way to hold 
Washington at bay. Six Trail Blazers scored in double figures, but no one topped 
Damon Stoudamire's 16 points. Nine players played at least 18 minutes, but no 
one played more than 32. 


 


Arvydas Sabonis had 15 points and 13 rebounds. 
Reserves Greg Anthony (15 points) and Bonzi Wells (14) shot a combined 11-for-15 
from the field. 


 


"What's so scary is they didn't have Brian Grant," 
said Washington forward Tracy Murray, referring to the Portland forward who's 
out with a foot injury. "They just came out there and pretty much dominated the 
game right from the start. We got back into it, but they still had control of 
the game. It's almost like they have a switch to turn it on, turn it off." 



 


Mitch Richmond led Washington with 18 points. 



 


The Wizards had played six tight games in a row, 
including back-to-back overtime games against New York and San Antonio, but they 
were essentially out of this one before the first quarter was half over. 



 


Washington missed its first six shots, fell behind 
10-0 and 17-2 and didn't have an offensive rebound in the first quarter. 
Murray's jump shots kept the Wizards in distant striking range. He was 6-for-8 
in the first half, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range, but scored only two 
after halftime. He finished with 17 points. 


 


Portland responded every time the Wizards try to 
rally. The Blazers led 27-17 after the first quarter, 55-43 at the half and 
72-65 after three quarters. Washington never got closer than seven points after 
the first quarter. 


 


Portland erased any doubts with a 15-0 
fourth-quarter run, making the score 91-69 with 5:16 remaining. 


 


"That's a very good basketball team," Washington 
coach Darrell Walker said. "Very deep, very talented. I didn't know if I should 
be worried about the first unit or the second unit." 


 


Of Portland's back-to-back successes this season, 
this may have been the biggest. They had a season-high three-game losing streak 
before the weekend. 


 


"We had a little bit of slippage, but we didn't 
slip too far," forward Rasheed Wallace said. "We're back on that track again. 
We're just out there hoopin' now." 


 


Notes: Michael Jordan, Wizards part owner and 
president of basketball operations, hasn't attended a game since the training 
deadline Feb. 24, when he wasn't able to swing a deal to help his struggling 
team. Washington has a somewhat respectable 4-5 record since. ... Portland's 
Scottie Pippen has been missing Jordan for two seasons now. When Walker 
complained to an official that his players were "working hard and can't get a 
call," Pippen answered: "It's been like this for me the last two years." ... The 
Wizards had a season-low five turnovers, but shot just 38 percent. ... The game 
was a sellout, only the second one at home for the Wizards all 
season.


 


steve...@tiscalinet.it



apprezziamo che tu ci voglia mettere al corrente di cosa succeda ai Blazers,
però sarebbe preferibile un commento tuo personale oppure il racconto dei
fatti o delle partite, ma stando sul succinto :-)
Altrimenti sono sicuro che saranno poche le persone che si sparano 11k di
articolo e tu hai fatto fatica per niente. E' solo un consiglio, nulla di
personale
Marco
GO LAKERS

steve...@tiscalinet.it
 (Steve Smith) wrote in 
Ciao Steve,
ti consiglio di non postare in html sui newsgroup; setta il tuo newsreader 
per postare in TESTO e con una larghezza della riga non superiore a 64.
Per quanto riguarda l'argomento del post un tuo parere e/o un tuo 
riassunto della partita sarebbero molto piu' graditi e letti che non 245 
righe direttamente quotate da qualche sito.
Alla prossima
-- 
Giovanni (AKA John Hooks)
--------------------------------------------
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http://www.huddle.org
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SOLO BLAZERS

 SOLO BLAZERS
Visto che ha fallito con i messaggi chilometrici, adesso ci prova con 
quelli super-sintetici.
^___________^
Ma allora, SEI CAPACE A FARE UNA FRASE DI SENSO COMPIUTO IN 
ITALIANO???
Christian