Iverson, 76ers Fail Badly Against Trail Blazers

Best record in the NBA? Yeah, the Philadelphia 76ers still have that.

Best team in the league? No way. Not with the way they were manhandled by the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

Damon Stoudamire thoroughly outplayed Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace found a way to get his shot over the league’s leading shot-blocker and the Trail Blazers extended their winning streak to nine games with a dominating 93-75 victory Wednesday night at Philadelphia.

“They way we came into the locker room afterward, it was an empty feeling--like it was our last game of the season,” Philadelphia’s Aaron McKie said.

What was expected to be a close game between the teams with the league’s two best records wasn’t even all that competitive. Portland (26-10) scored 16 of the first 19 points, easily fought off a pair of runs by Philadelphia (25-9) and dealt the Sixers a humbling defeat that ended their winning streak at seven.

The Trail Blazers never trailed, passed the ball splendidly in accumulating a season-high 34 assists and outscored the 76ers, 23-10, in the fourth quarter to avenge a 13-point loss earlier this season.

“This was big for us just to see where we are,” said Stoudamire, who finished with 17 points, 11 assists and five rebounds. “We’ve played a lot of the teams in the West, and this is our second time playing some of the teams in the East, so this was big for us.”

Stoudamire, who led seven Trail Blazers in double-figure scoring, also limited Iverson, holding the 76ers’ leading scorer to 12 points on five-for-21 shooting.

Wallace added 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists matched against Theo Ratliff, the league’s leading shot-blocker who managed only one rejection.

Dallas 106, Minnesota 86--Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points and Michael Finley added 26 as the Mavericks won their franchise-record seventh consecutive road game.

All five Dallas starters reached double figures in scoring midway through the third quarter as the Mavericks moved into a tie atop the Midwest Division with the San Antonio Spurs.

Kevin Garnett had 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for Minnesota.

Sacramento 108, Cleveland 103--Chris Webber had 30 points and 14 rebounds as the Kings survived a career-high 38 points by Chris Gatling to beat the Cavaliers at Sacramento.

The Cavaliers, who visit the Lakers on Friday, lost for the ninth time in 11 games.

Boston 88, Miami 76--Paul Pierce scored 28 points at Boston as the Celtics snapped a six-game losing streak and Coach Jim O’Brien his first NBA win.

O’Brien, Rick Pitino’s longtime assistant, was named interim coach Monday when Pitino resigned.

Toronto 110, Detroit 85--Rookie Morris Peterson scored 18 points in a successful homecoming to lead the Raptors at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Peterson, a native of nearby Flint and a member of Michigan State’s 2000 NCAA champions, played in Michigan for the first time as a pro.

Seattle 104, Washington 101--Gary Payton scored 20 points at Washington as the SuperSonics fought off a late 16-5 surge to extend the Wizards’ losing streak to five.

Around the League

Prosecutors in Phoenix have asked for dismissal of a misdemeanor intimidation charge against Sun guard Penny Hardaway, citing a lack of cooperation from Latarsha McCray, the mother of Hardaway’s 8-year-old daughter. . . . The Boston Celtics activated rookie forward Jerome Moiso from the injured list. Moiso was sidelined by a sprained right ankle.