No Duncan Spells Trouble for Spurs

Tim Duncan was missing and so were the San Antonio Spurs.

Rasheed Wallace scored 27 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 93-77 victory Thursday night at San Antonio.

Duncan watched from the bench, sidelined by a cartilage tear in his left knee. He suffered the injury on a dunk against Sacramento on Wednesday. He is also listed as doubtful for Saturday’s game against Utah..

San Antonio is fifth in the Western Conference, 1 1/2 games behind the fourth-place Phoenix Suns for home-court advantage in a first-round playoff series.

The Trail Blazers shot 56.5% from the field, a season high for a Spur opponent. Portland amassed a 55-39 and coasted the rest of the way.

Samaki Walker started in place of Duncan, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds before leaving with a dislocated finger in the fourth quarter. David Robinson led the Spurs with 16 points.

Sacramento 130, Golden State 107--Chris Webber scored 22 points as the Kings won easily at Sacramento.

Sacramento, seventh in the Western Conference, increased its lead over idle eighth-place Seattle to one game.

The Kings tied their season high for points and snapped a three-game losing streak, the first time all season they had dropped three straight at home.

Larry Hughes had 35 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors.

Washington 109, Chicago 103--Richard Hamilton scored a career-high 26 points, including 11 of the Wizards’ last 13 points, as Michael Jordan’s new team beat his old team at Chicago.

The loss spoiled an outstanding game for rookie Elton Brand, who scored a career-high 44 points in becoming the first Bull to score 40 points since Jordan had 44 on April 18, 1998. Brand’s previous career high was 38 points. He also had 12 rebounds.

Jordan wasn’t at the United Center for the Wizards’ first game in Chicago since he became a part-owner and president of basketball operations. He was in Arizona for a pre-draft tournament.

Houston 111, Dallas 102--Steve Francis had 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists at Houston to lead the Rockets to their fifth consecutive victory.

Walt Williams led Houston with 21 points before being ejected after a fourth-quarter fight with Shawn Bradley.

Michael Finley had 35 points for Dallas, which had won five in a row.

Around the League

On Wednesday, Chris Webber was cited for reckless driving after being stopped following a home loss to San Antonio, according to the California Highway Patrol. His teammate, guard Jason Williams, could face a similar charge after being stopped in the same area, said officer Nick Salmeron, who added that they were not believed to have been racing. Drivers can erase the charge from their driving records by attending traffic school, Salmeron said. On Jan. 2, Webber, 27, and Williams, 24, each got speeding tickets after they were stopped at the same Sacramento location in separate vehicles. . . . Houston forward Charles Barkley, who announced his retirement after rupturing a knee tendon in December, said he plans to play in the Rockets’ final game, Wednesday at home against Vancouver. . . . Billy Knight, an Indiana Pacer executive, has been offered and may already have accepted the job of general manager of the Vancouver Grizzlies, The Vancouver Sun reported. Knight would replace Stu Jackson.