In the End, Wallace Is Too Tough

Rasheed Wallace made all the tough shots for the Portland Trail Blazers. The Sacramento Kings couldn’t quite match them.

Wallace had a key basket near the end of regulation and scored seven of his 24 points in overtime as the Trail Blazers won their eighth in a row by defeating the Kings, 108-103, to improve their league-best road record to 22-8.

“I thought our guys executed offensively down the stretch and they hung tough,” said Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy, whose team squandered a 14-point lead late in the third quarter.

Wallace’s seven points in overtime matched the total scored by the Kings.

Sacramento lost for only the fifth time in 21 games at home despite 33 points and 19 rebounds from Chris Webber.

New Jersey 91, Minnesota 89--Fans were merciless when Stephon Marbury returned to Target Center for the first time since he forced the Timberwolves to trade him to the Nets, in part to escape Minnesota’s cold winters.

Marbury gave the packed house plenty to boo about, scoring 39 points--three shy of his career high--in leading New Jersey past his former team.

Marbury missed a three-point shot from the top of the circle with 8.9 seconds left, and the ball hit the shot clock, giving Minnesota possession. Kevin Garnett missed an off-balance shot and Malik Sealy missed the tip. Garnett scored 27 points, but missed 24 of 33 shots.

San Antonio 113, Houston 111--Tim Duncan, who had only eight points and seven rebounds through three quarters, scored 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and overtime at Houston.

Duncan scored 13 points and had four rebounds in the fourth quarter, and added four points and a key steal in overtime to lead the Spurs to their eighth consecutive victory against the Rockets.

In the overtime, Duncan made his first shot, then made two free throws with 35 seconds left to give San Antonio a 109-107 lead. He then made a key steal with 22 seconds left. Terry Porter and Mario Elie each made two free throws in the final 20 seconds to clinch the victory.

Dallas 100, Toronto 96--Dennis Rodman was at his mischievous best in his return to the Mavericks--grabbing rebounds and attention.

Rodman, suspended for a game after sitting on the court in protest last week, had a game-high 16 rebounds and sat on the court twice. He received a huge cheer from the crowd when he fouled out with 22 seconds left.

Three minutes into the second quarter, Rodman sat down after not getting a call when he and Tracy McGrady made contact jumping for a rebound. As he sat in protest, Dallas brought the ball up court, but when Toronto quickly came back the other way Rodman got up.

He continued his antics in the third quarter. After getting his fourth foul for hitting Antonio Davis, he briefly sat on the court again.

Golden State 112, Washington 103--Jason Caffey scored 25 points and matched his career high with 16 rebounds at Oakland as the Warriors won their second game in a row since acquiring Billy Owens and Larry Hughes in a three-team trade last Wednesday.

Jahidi White scored a season-high 23 points and had 14 rebounds for Washington, which lost its seventh in a row. The Wizards also lost their 15th consecutive road game.

Miami 85, Charlotte 80--The Heat, who had lost six of its last seven road games, including three in a row, made 12 of 16 three-point shots to win at Charlotte, N.C.

Dan Majerle, returning to the Heat lineup after being on the injured list since Jan. 25 because of a stress fracture of the left leg, had nine points, five rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes.

Around the League

Indiana Pacer Coach Larry Bird might be interested in owning his former team, the Boston Celtics. Asked if he’d ever buy the team, Bird said he thinks he could make it happen. “I could get people together to buy the team in a day,” Bird said. “I could get it done tomorrow. Let’s get the ball rolling.” Celtic owner Paul Gaston has said publicly that the team is not for sale. . . . Golden State forward Antawn Jamison will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday in Los Angeles, the team announced. Jamison, who leads the Warriors in scoring (19.6), has missed the last three games. . . . Houston center Kelvin Cato, who suffered a sprained left ankle during Friday night’s loss at San Antonio, was put on the injured list. The Rockets activated forward Carlos Rogers, who had missed 13 games after surgery on his right hand.