Trail Blazers Punish Wallace and Lose Again

Even without Rasheed Wallace, there were plenty of technical fouls to go around.

After suspending Wallace for his continued on-court tantrums, the Portland Trail Blazers were whistled for three technicals Tuesday night and stumbled in the playoff chase, losing to the Denver Nuggets, 94-92, at Denver.

Portland fell one game behind the fifth-place Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference.

“You dig yourself a hole in this league, you’ve got to dig yourself out of a hole,” Portland guard Damon Stoudamire said. “The only thing is, the hole is getting bigger every day. We’re making it too hard.”

Robert Pack, starting in place of suspended point guard Nick Van Exel, had a season-high 26 points for the Nuggets, who also played without leading scorer and rebounder Antonio McDyess (dislocated kneecap).

Rod Strickland joined Wallace on the suspension list as the NBA penalized him following his guilty plea to a drunk-driving charge in Washington. Strickland was sentenced to 10 days in jail, though he probably won’t serve it until after the season.

He was also put on supervised probation for two years and ordered to attend substance-abuse counseling and pay about $1,000 in fines.

Van Exel was suspended after missing two workouts without contacting team officials. Wallace’s one-game suspension came after Sunday’s ejection following his record-setting 39th and 40th technical fouls of the season in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Meanwhile, the game was intense as the Nuggets also drew three technical fouls, and Portland guard Bonzi Wells was ejected with 46 seconds to play.

Despite it all, Portland still had a chance until Steve Smith’s 30-footer rattled out at the buzzer.

Dallas 109, Houston 97--Michael Finley scored 27 points at Houston to help the Mavericks clinch their first playoff spot in 11 years.

Milwaukee 107, Sacramento 101--Sam Cassell scored six of his 33 points in the final 90 seconds as the Bucks blew a 24-point lead but rallied at Sacramento.

Indiana 85, Phoenix 81--Jalen Rose and Travis Best each scored 18 points at Indianapolis as the Pacers ended the Suns’ seven-game winning streak and remained tied with the Boston Celtics for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.

Boston 82, Miami 77--Paul Pierce had 33 points and nine rebounds at Miami as the Celtics handed the Heat its third loss in four games since Alonzo Mourning’s return. Mourning had 11 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots in 23 minutes.

Toronto 100, Philadelphia 85--Vince Carter scored 26 points at Toronto to lead the Raptors to their third victory over the 76ers in four games this season.

San Antonio 107, Seattle 89--Tim Duncan had 30 points and 14 rebounds at San Antonio as the Spurs ended the SuperSonics’ four-game winning streak.

New York 94, Orlando 82--Marcus Camby had 23 points and 20 rebounds at New York as the Knicks capitalized on the absence of the Magic’s Tracy McGrady, who suffered a leg injury before halftime.

Charlotte 103, New Jersey 88--Jamal Mashburn scored 31 points at East Rutherford, N.J.