Trail Blazers Continue Their Rise

The Toronto Raptors hope they can turn their season around the way the Portland Trail Blazers have.

Rasheed Wallace scored 20 points Friday night as the Trail Blazers extended their winning streak to eight with a 91-81 victory at Toronto, the Raptors’ 10th consecutive loss.

Damon Stoudamire had 19 points, and Dale Davis had 16 rebounds and 13 points for the Trail Blazers, who have won five consecutive road games and 21 of 27 overall.

Portland was 13-18 when Toronto handed the Trail Blazers their season-high sixth consecutive loss on Jan. 2.

“[Toronto] Coach [Lenny] Wilkens had an interesting point after the game. He said, ‘Just as easily as we got into this, we can get out of this,’” Toronto’s Morris Peterson said.

Vince Carter, playing his third game since coming off the injured list, scored 25 points for the Raptors, who are on their longest losing streak in four years. They dropped 13 in a row from March 20 to April 12, 1998.

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Philadelphia 110, New Jersey 102--Allen Iverson, who did not start as punishment for being late to the morning shootaround, shook off a leg injury to score 43 points at Philadelphia.

Kerry Kittles scored 16 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to pace the Eastern Conference-leading Nets.

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Charlotte 100, Boston 87--Jamal Mashburn had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Baron Davis had 19 points and eight assists as the Hornets scored the first 10 points of the game at Boston and coasted to victory.

Paul Pierce scored 20 points, and Antoine Walker had 16 points and nine rebounds for Boston, which has lost four consecutive since trading Joe Johnson, Milt Palacio and next year’s first-round pick to Phoenix for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers.

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New York 89, Seattle 87--Howard Eisley, promoted from third-stringer to backup, led the Knicks to their first victory since Feb. 13.

Eisley had 14 points and eight assists and played the final 14 minutes at New York as the Knicks ended a six-game losing streak and ended Seattle’s road winning streak at eight games.

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Detroit 110, Orlando 102--Cliff Robinson scored 24 points, and Jerry Stackhouse returned to the lineup to score 23 as the Pistons won at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Stackhouse had been expected to sit out his second consecutive game because of a strained shoulder, but he decided he could play after participating in pregame warmups.

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San Antonio 85, Minnesota 77--Tim Duncan had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and David Robinson had 18 points as the Spurs held off the Timberwolves at Minneapolis.

Trailing 78-75 late in the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves had several chances down the stretch to score but couldn’t crack the Spur defense and were forced into hurried shots with the shot clock winding down.

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Denver 96, Memphis 83--Juwan Howard had 24 points and nine rebounds, and Tim Hardaway scored 17 of his season-high 22 points in the third quarter at Denver as the Nuggets ended a six-game losing streak.

Antonio McDyess, who missed the first 54 games of the season after having surgery on his left knee, returned to the lineup for the Nuggets. He had seven points and three rebounds.

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Chicago 90, Washington 81--Travis Best made consecutive long jumpers with less than two minutes left and Jalen Rose made four free throws down the stretch as the Bulls won at Chicago.

With Michael Jordan in Washington recuperating from knee surgery, the Wizards lost their seventh consecutive despite a strong effort from Richard Hamilton. He scored 30 points after making a gametime decision to play despite flulike symptoms.

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Sacramento 116, Golden State 109--Chris Webber celebrated his 29th birthday with 32 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and Peja Stojakovic scored 26 as the Kings improved to 13-13 on the road with a victory at Oakland. The Warriors have lost 23 of 27.