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Allen Might Sell Trail Blazers

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From the Associated Press

Former Portland Trail Blazer guard Terry Porter said he was rounding up potential investors interested in buying the team and the Rose Garden.

Owner Paul Allen told the Oregonian newspaper Friday night that he had come to terms with selling the troubled team, which has the worst record in the NBA and which, he said, has been costing him millions of dollars to keep afloat.

He said Portland’s home game against Golden State on Saturday night could have been his “last home game as Blazers owner.

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“I’ve come to terms with it.”

Allen said any decision probably would come before the June 28 draft.

Porter, one of the most popular players in franchise history, played 10 years for Portland and later coached the Milwaukee Bucks for two years. They fired him at the end of last season.

Porter said his group has $100 million in debt financing lined up but would not say how much it hopes to raise. He also said he would approach other former Trail Blazers.

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Larry Brown did not travel to Detroit on Saturday and will not coach the New York Knicks today when they play the Pistons.

Brown, 65, was hospitalized Thursday night in Cleveland because of a stomach ailment after becoming ill during the Knicks’ loss to the Cavaliers. He returned home Friday, but assistant coach Herb Williams ran the team in a loss to Milwaukee.

It is not known whether Brown will coach the final two games of the regular season, Monday at home against Charlotte or at New Jersey on Wednesday. The Knicks are 22-57, the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

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LeBron James expects to play today against the Washington Wizards, saying he “feels good” after testing his sprained left ankle.

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James practiced Saturday, four days after rolling his ankle late in the third quarter of the Cavaliers’ loss in Detroit.

“I feel good right now,” James said. “It feels about 85% now, and that’s good enough to play without hurting the team.”

James intends to play in Cleveland’s final three regular-season games to stay sharp for the Cavaliers’ first trip to the playoffs since 1998.

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