Portland’s Woes Continue in 26-Point Loss at Phoenix

Two games into the season, Portland Trail Blazer Coach Mike Dunleavy doesn’t like what he’s seeing out of a team that is supposed to challenge the Lakers for the NBA championship.

Tony Delk scored 22 points and Shawn Marion added 21 points and 10 rebounds Thursday night as the Phoenix Suns routed the Trail Blazers, 108-82, at Phoenix.

The 26-point loss was worse than any the Trail Blazers’ had last season.

“Basically, I’m just totally disappointed where we are,” Dunleavy said. “I’ve been quietly saying this for about a week to 10 days. I haven’t been happy with the way we’ve been responding. It’s totally my fault. We just need to be pushed harder and worked harder.”

Jason Kidd, who had a triple-double in the Suns’ season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night at Oakland, had 16 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds.

Delk, signed as a free agent in the off-season, made five of six three-point shots. He has learned quickly how much fun it is to play alongside Kidd.

“I think he’s the best point guard in the game. I’ve always felt that,” Delk said. “He looks to pass first. He really gets his teammates involved.”

Six Suns hit double figures as Phoenix’s reserves outscored the Trail Blazer counterparts, 57-33.

Rodney Rogers scored 16, all but two in the first half, and 7-foot-1 rookie Daniel Santiago scored his first 11 NBA points, 10 in the first half.

Shawn Kemp scored 21 as a reserve for Portland, 11 in the first quarter. Rasheed Wallace added 20 and Steve Smith 13.

Scottie Pippen played despite a sprained left ankle, an injury that occurred when he stepped on a referee’s foot during Tuesday night’s season-opening loss to the Lakers at Portland. He finished with 10 points in 34 minutes on two-of-eight shooting.

New York 94, Atlanta 69--Glen Rice scored 12 of his 21 points during a fourth-quarter onslaught at New York as the Knicks rebounded from the embarrassment of their home opener--a 29-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.

San Antonio 103, Minnesota 91--Derek Anderson scored 29 points and Tim Duncan added 24 for the Spurs at San Antonio.

Kevin Garnett had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Terrell Brandon had 19 points for the Timberwolves.

Dallas 94, Indiana 88--Greg Buckner scored on three consecutive possessions in the final 2:05 and finished with 13 points at Dallas as the Mavericks improved to 2-0.

Dallas was protecting an 83-80 lead when Buckner drove for consecutive layups to expand the Mavericks’ advantage to 87-80 with 1:25 to play.

Denver 101, Golden State 97--Nick Van Exel and George McCloud combined to score 12 of the Nuggets’ last 13 points at Denver.

Houston 115, Milwaukee 93--Walt Williams scored 23 of his 28 points in the first half and the Rockets survived a third-quarter challenge at Houston.

With Williams leading the way, the Rockets took a 70-49 halftime lead. But the Bucks outscored the Rockets, 20-8, to cut Houston’s lead to 85-74 at the end of the third quarter.