PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS at DENVER NUGGETS GAME NO. 19 --- Dec. 5, 1996 DIGGING IN DENVER --- The Trail Blazers, 10-8, will be looking to dig out of a two-game losing streak, equalling their longest of the season, when they go against the Denver Nuggets Thursday in McNichols Arena. Portland downed the Nuggets, 105-65, the last time the two teams met on Nov. 23, but since then have won just two of five games. Tuesday's 98-93 overtime loss to Indiana in the Rose Garden was their first homecourt setback in six games, going back to the season's third contest. The Blazers saw a two-game road streak come to an end Sunday when they fell at the hands of Golden State, 98-70. Still, Portland is 5-6 in road outings this season, an improvement over a year ago when it was 3-8 after 11 games away from home and didn t get its fifth road success until Jan. 3, the 31st game of the season. The Blazers finished off their best November in six years with a 10-6 record. The 10 wins was the most for the month since the 1990-91 team went 12-1 to start the year. The Blazers posted their third consecutive winning month (going back to last season), a span during which they put a collective record of 29-12 on the board. The Blazers 10-6 start was the best in Coach P.J. Carlesimo's tenure and is noteable given the rugged opening schedule in which 10 of the first 15 games were on the road, the most travel in the first month in more than a decade for Portland. After Thursday's game in Denver, the Blazers play seven of the next nine before Christmas at home. PROBABLE STARTERS --- F--No. 3 Clifford Robinson (6-10), F--No. 30 Rasheed Wallace (6-10), C--No. 11 Arvydas Sabonis (7-3), G--No. 34 Isaiah Rider (6-5), G--No. 7 Kenny Anderson (6-1). THE ALL-TIME NUGGETS SERIES --- The Blazers lead in their all-time series with the Denver Nuggets, 54-37, and have won five in a row over the Midwest Division club. Portland has won on its last two visits to McNichols Arena, including 118-117 and 97-91 victories last season, but trails in matchups in the Mile High City, 28-17. At home, the Blazers have won three in a row and 12 of their last 13 against the Nuggets and own a 37-9 all-time homecourt advantage over Denver. The Nuggets last win in the series was by a 102-98 score on March 26, 1995, in Portland. THE LAST TIME THEY MET --- PORTLAND 105, DENVER 65 --- NOV. 23, 1996 at THE ROSE GARDEN The Trail Blazers held the Denver Nuggets to an all-time opponent low point total as they stormed to a 105-65 victory in the Rose Garden. The win, Portland's fourth straight and its fifth in a row over the Nuggets, was by a margin equal to the biggest ever over Denver. The Blazers put the game away early, racing to a 19-2 lead in the first 6:22. The Nuggets were held without a field goal for the first 8:11 of the contest, had an all-time opponent low 20 for the game, and were outscored, 52-25, in the first half, another Blazers opponent low. Gary Trent led the Blazers onslaught, coming off the bench to record career highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes of play. For the first time this season, all 12 Blazers contributed to the point total. Portland shot a season-high .526 from the field (40-76) while limiting the Nuggets to an opponent season-low .274 (20-73). The Blazers dominated the backboards, 53-26. OFFENSE WARMING UP --- The Blazers offense is averaging 96.3 ppg, is the eighth most productive in the league . . . The Blazers made only 80 percent of their free throws Tuesday against Indiana (24-30) and are hitting at a .727 clip for the season, a considerable improvement over the .662 of last year, the league's worst mark . . . Six of Portland's 10 victories have been by 11 or more points and three have been in the plus-26 category . . . four of the Blazers eight losses have been by five points or less . . . In winning 10 games, the Blazers margin of victory has been 12.3 ppg . . . Overall, Portland's edge over its opponents is 4.2 points a game, the NBA's eighth best mark. LIKEWISE THE DEFENSE . . . In winning 10 games, the Blazers have held nine of their opponents under 100 points and have allowed only five of 18 foes to top the century mark thus far . . . Their defensive average for 16 games, 92.7, is the ninth lowest in the league and is 4.3 points below the club record 97.0 ppg recorded in 82 games last year . . . Opponent field goal shooting is down as well . . . In 18 games, opponents have connected at a .418 clip from the floor. That is well under Portland's all-time opponent season low of .442 set last season . . . While the Blazers have shot 51 percent or better in six games so far (five of them victories), only one opponent has managed to break the 50 percent barrier (Houston shot .500 in the OT tussle on Nov. 26). AMONG THE NBA LEADERS --- RASHEED WALLACE is No. 3 in field goal percentage---.567 (97-171) --- GARY TRENT is 5th in field goal percentage--- .552 (74-134) and 7th in free throw percentage---.879 (29-33) --- KENNY ANDERSON is 13th in steals (1.89 avg.), 19th in assists (5.3) and 26th in scoring (18.0) --- CHRIS DUDLEY is 30th in rebounding (8.1 avg.) and 20th in blocked shots (1.56) --- ARVYDAS SABONIS is 39th in rebounding (7.2 avg.) and 22nd in blocked shots (1.39) ON THE REBOUNDS AGAIN --- Portland, perennially among the NBA leaders in rebounding, is up there again. The Blazers are the league leaders total rebounding percentage---the share of total misses in a game a team rebounds (.541), fourth in defensive rebounding percentage and third in offensive percentage. The Blazers have outrebounded 14 of their 18 opponents thus far and have had 50 or more rebounds in five outings. They have an overall advantage of 7.9 boards per game and a 5.6 per game margin on the defensive glass. Portland, among top five teams in the league for the past nine years, is their again this season despite not having an individual among the league's top 20 rebounders. PACERS IN OT --- Portland battled back from an 18-point deficit late in the second quarter against Indiana Tuesday in the Rose Garden, sending the game into overtime. But the Pacers ulitmately prevailed, 98-93, snapping a five-game Blazers home win streak. Portland was outscored, 54-42, in the first half but then held Indiana to a season-low 31 points in the last two quarters before seeing the Pacers hit two clutch shots and 8 of 9 free throws in the extra session to pull out the win. Kenny Anderson led the Blazers in scoring with 29 points. Indiana's Reggie Miller tallied 32 while hitting 5 of 9 from three-point range. Portland shot .384 (33-86), its second straight sub-.400 field goal effort, while the visitors were firing at a .431 clip (31-72). The Blazers, behind an 11-rebound effort by Chris Dudley, had a 41-39 edge on the boards. GOING DOWN IN SAN JOSE --- After rolling to a 26-point win over Golden State in Portland on Friday, the Blazers went down, 98-70, to the same team in San Jose on Sunday afternoon. Portland's point total equalled its all-time low set earlier this season at Cleveland and its 24 field goals were the franchise's fewest ever, going below the 26 scored twice last season against Miami and Utah. The Blazers finished with a season-low .304 field goal mark (24-79). The 28-point margin was the biggest loss by the Blazers since the Lakers won by 29, (135-106), on March 30, 1990. Golden State prevailed despite scoring one less field goal (28) than it did in losing two days earlier and shooting just .373 (28-75) from the floor. Portland was outrebounded 57-38. Clifford Robinson and Isaiah Rider, with 13 points each, topped Portland and Latrell Sprewell scored 28 to lead the Warriors. The loss snapped a four-game Blazers win streak in the series. ROUTING THE WARRIORS --- Portland outscored Golden State, 60-37, in the second half to capture a 119-93 victory over Golden State Friday in the Rose Garden. The win, the Blazers' sixth in seven games and their fifth in a row at home, was the fourth straight over the Warriors. Portland shot .523 for the game (45-86), came up a point shy of its season-high output of the previous game---a 120-109 win at San Antonio, and equalled season highs with 45 field goals and 10 three-pointers. At the other end of the floor, the defense held Golden State to .414 shooting (29-70). The Blazers dominated the boards, 50-27. Rasheed Wallace's 20 points led six Portland players in double-figure scoring. Latrell Sprewell paced the Warriors with 32 points. O NEAL ACTIVATED --- Jermaine O Neal, the Trail Blazers 18-year-old 1st round draft choice out of Eau Claire High School in Columbia, S.C., was activated Tuesday after spending the first 17 games of the season on the injured He suffered a contusion on his left knee Oct. 25 against Vancouver, the Blazers' next-to-last preseason outing. O Neal, who sat out the Indiana overtime battle (coach's decision), could become the youngest player ever to participate in a regular season NBA game when enters his first contest. Laker guard Kobe Bryant currently holds that distinction, having made his debut Nov. 3 against Minnesota at the age of 18 years, 2 months, 11 days. On Thursday, O Neal will be 18 years, 1 month, 22 days old. Prior to Bryant, Philadelphia's Stan Brown (18 years, 4 months) was the youngest, playing his first game on Nov. 13, 1947. THE OVERTIME STORY --- Tuesday's 98-93 overtime loss to Indiana was the second in four extra session affairs in the first 18 games of the season. The Blazers played six overtimers all last year and only four in the two previous seasons combined . . . In a two-week span last month, Portland downed Minnesota and Sacramento in a OT games at home and lost a one-pointer at Houston . . . The Blazers and Pacers have an affinity for playing extra minutes when the battle in Portland. Tuesday's game was the second straight overtime matchup between the two teams in the Rose Garden, the third in the last five years in Portland and the fourth in the last nine . . . The Blazers and Golden State lead the league in OT games thus far with four each. A NICE NOVEMBER --- With an 10-6 record, the Blazers finished with their 11th winning November in 16 years and their 14th since the 1976-77 NBA Championship season. The Blazers have finished below .500 for the month only once since 1981-82. Historically, November is Portland's second most productive month with a 27-year count of 215-177 in November, 54.8 percent. It was the third consecutive month with a winning record. Combined with March (11-3) and April (8-3) last spring, Portland has compiled a three-month mark of 29-12. BACK-TO-BACK --- Thursday's game in Denver opens the sixth of 20 sets of back-to-back games on the Blazers 1996-97 schedule. Portland, scheduled to play Charlotte at home on Friday, goes into the Nuggets contest with a 4-6 record in back-to-back games (contests played on consecutive nights) thus far. The Blazers are 1-4 in first games of the sets, including a 1-3 mark when the first game is played on the road. YOUNGEST, LEAST EXPERIENCED --- The Blazers, with an average age of 25.63 years, is the youngest ahead of Vancouver (25.80) and Golden State (25.87). The 29-team league average is 27.74. Last year, the Blazers ranked as the NBA's 18th youngest team with an average age of 26.92. Portland not only is young, but the roster, which includes eight players in Blazers uniforms for the first time, is the least experienced of any team in the league, averaging 2.47 years of NBA action per player. The number is lower than the two second-year expansion teams Vancouver (2.57) and Toronto (2.85), and the overall NBA average of 4.63. Chris Dudley, in his 10th year, and Clifford Robinson, in his eighth, are the club's two most experienced players. FOUR BLAZERS ON ALL-STAR BALLOT --- Guards Kenny Anderson and Isaiah Rider, forward Clifford Robinson and center Arvydas Sabonis are the Blazers on the 1997 McDonald's NBA All-Star Ballot. Ballots are being distributed to fans in the league's 29 arenas and to more than 12,000 McDonald's restaurants throughout the United States. Voting is now underway in arenas and will start Dec. 26 at McDonalds. Fans worldwide also have opportunity to vote for their favorite players via NBA.com, the league's official web site. In-arena balloting concludes Jan. 10. Starters for the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star teams will be announced Jan. 26. The 47th annual NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for Cleveland's Gund Arena Feb. 9. ANDERSON S ASSISTS COUNTING UP --- Point guard KENNY ANDERSON, has dished out 95 assists in his first 18 games and that means $1,900 so far for the Kids Making Miracles $1 million drive to fund a state-of-the-art health care facility at the Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland. Anderson, honorary chairman of Kids Making Miracles, pledged $20 for every assist he makes during the season. As part of the NBA's major youth initiative TeamUp, the Trail Blazers have made a three-year commitment to help build public awareness of Kids Making Miracles efforts. Kids Make Miracles is a volunteer organization of hundreds of grade and high school students throughout Oregon and southwest Washington. P.J. CARLESIMO --- Head coach P.J. Carlesimo is two wins away from posting his 100th NBA career success. He is currently 98-84 in three-plus seasons at the Portland helm, and will be the fourth coach in franchise history to record 100 wins when he reaches that mark. Last season, he guided Portland to a 44-38 record for the second year in a row. His current win percentage of .538 is fourth all-time for the Blazers. INJURY REPORT --- The Blazers placed forward/guard Mitchell Butler on the injured list Dec. 3 (tendenitis, both knees), and activated forward Jermain O Neal; placed guard Reggie Jordan on the injured list Nov. 26 (injured joint, left thumb), and activated Aleksandar Djordjevic. Marcus Brown (strained right groin) are also on the injured list. HORNETS TOMORROW NIGHT --- Portland hustles home after Thursday's clash in Denver to get ready to meet the Charlotte Hornets Friday in the Rose Garden (7 p.m., KEX Radio). That contest opens a three-game Blazers homestand that has Orlando coming in Tuesday (7 p.m., KEX Radio, BlazerVision) and Vancouver on Thursday (7 p.m., KEX Radio). Next road game for Portland is Friday, Dec. 13, at the Los Angeles Lakers (7:30 p.m., KEX Radio, KGW-TV). THE PLAYERS KENNY ANDERSON --- Tuesday vs. Pacers: Team-high 29 pts (9-21 fgs, 1-8 3pt, 10-12 fts), 3 assists, 5 rbs, 46 minutes---his team-best eighth 20+ game of the season . . . Sunday at the Warriors: 7 pts, 2 assists, 4 rbs, 2 steals, 25 minutes . . . Friday vs. Warriors: 12 pts, 2 rbs, 2 assists, 19 minutes in his first non-start of the season . . . Equalled Blazers individual season high with 32 points vs. Houston Nov. 26 . . . Had his first double-double of the season---11 pts, season-high 12 assists (and just two rebounds shy of his sixth career triple-double) Nov. 17 at Indiana. . . Team's leading scorer at 18.0 ppg, the assists leader (5.3 avg.) and tops in steals (1.89 avg.) . . . He ranks 27th in the league in scoring, 19th in assists, and 13th in steals . . . Signed as a free agent July 23 . . . Played last season with New Jersey and Charlotte, averaging 15.2 points and 8.3 assists in 69 games . . . Played the previous four years with New Jersey . . . Nets 1st round draft choice (2nd overall) in 1991 . . . Starting East guard in the 1994 NBA All-Star Game . . . New Jersey's all-time assists leader with 2,363 . . . Packs five-season career averages of 15.3 points and 7.9 assists . . . Last game vs. Denver: 14 pts, 8 assists, 6 rbs, 30 minutes. MARCUS BROWN --- On injured list (strained right groin) sustained in practice Oct. 29 . . . Portland's 2nd round draft pick (46th overall) in the 1996 NBA Draft . . . Second leading collegiate scorer in the nation last year at Murray State with a 26.4 average . . . Two-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year . . . All-time Murray State leader in steals, second in scoring and in the top 10 in seven other categories. MITCHELL BUTLER --- Placed on injured list Tuesday (tendenitis, both knees) . . . Sunday at the Warriors: 0 pts, 1 assist, 9 minutes . . . Friday vs. Warriors: 7 pts, 1 rb, 1 steal, 1 block, 15 minutes . . . Obtained in trade, along with Rasheed Wallace, with Washington for Rod Strickland and Harvey Grant on July 15 . . . Averaged 6.4 points in 212 games over three seasons with the Bullets . . . Not drafted by an NBA team, he was signed as a free agent by the Bullets in 1993 after playing in more games than any player in UCLA history . . . Captain of the 1992-93 Bruins . . Last game vs. Denver: 5 pts, 7 minutes. RANDOLPH CHILDRESS --- Did not play in last two games (coach's decision) . . . Friday vs. Warriors: 0 pts, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 minutes . . . Nov. 23 vs. Denver: Season-high 5 pts, career-high 6 assists, career-high 3 steals, season-high 18 minutes . . . (Previous career highs were 5 assists Nov. 5, 1995, at Utah, and 1 steal eight different times last year) . . . Averaged 3.0 points in 28 games as a Blazers rookie last season before undergoing surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule and labrum in his left shoulder suffered in a Dec. 30 game at Cleveland . . . He missed the last 52 games of the season after averaging 3.0 points and 1.3 assists in his first 28 games . . . An All-American at Wake Forest, he was drafted by Detroit in the 1st round (19th) overall in 1995 and acquired in a trade involving Otis Thorpe on Sept. 20, 1995 . . . . Last game vs. Denver: 5 pts, career-high 6 assists, 1 steal, season-high 18 minutes. ALEKSANDAR DJORDJEVIC --- Tuesday vs. Pacers: One assist, 5 minutes . . . Sunday at the Warriors: 8 pts (2-4 fgs, 2-2 3pt, 2-2 fts), 3 rbs, 1 assist, 12 minutes . . . Played in first regular season NBA game Friday versus Golden State, with his first field goal at the 3:17 mark of the final period on a driving layup. Finished with 2 pts, 1 rb in 5 minutes . . . Did not play in previous two games (coach's decision) . . . Activated Nov. 26 after spraining his right ankle in the Oct. 25 preseason game with Vancouver and being on the injured list from the start of the season . . . Missed first four preseason games with strained groin and sore neck. . . Acquired by Portland as a free agent Sept. 24 . . . Helped lead Yugoslavia take the Silver Medal at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta . . . Yugoslavia's second leading scorer with an 11.3 per game average and team leader in assists with 5.6 a game . . . Averaged 22.5 points as a point guard in four years in the Italian League. CHRIS DUDLEY --- Tuesday vs. Pacers: 6 pts (3-4 fgs), team-high 11 rbs, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 2 assists---sixth game in double figures on the glass . . . Sunday at the Warriors: 1 pt, tied for team rb honors (7), 1 steal and team season-high 5 blocked shots . . . Friday vs. Warriors: 5 pts, 4 rbs, 1 steal, 22 minutes . . . Had a season-high 13 rebounds at New Jersey Nov. 15 . . . Tops team in rebounding (8.1 rpg) and in blocked shots (1.56) despite starting just one game thus far . . . Ranks 30th in the league in rebounding and 20th in blocks . . . Blazers leader in rebounds and blocked shots last two seasons . . . Averaged 9.0 boards (21st highest in the NBA) and 1.25 blocks (25th in the league) last season . . . 10th year in the league, the team's longest tenured player . . . Has career average of 4.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in 562 games . . . Named 1996 winner of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award presented annually by the Professional Basketball Writers Association in recognition of outstanding community service and charitable work . . . Last game vs. Denver: 7 pts, 10 rbs, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 23 minutes. REGGIE JORDAN --- Placed on injured list (injured joint, left thumb) Nov. 26 . . . Scored 2 pts and had 2 rbs and an assist, in 7 minutes before injuring his left thumb in the Nov. 26 Denver game . . . Signed as a free agent by Portland Aug. 30 . . . Previously played in the NBA with the Lakers and Hawks . . . In 47 previous NBA games averaged 4.7 points and 1.2 assists . . . Started the 1995-96 season with Sioux Falls of the CBA where he averaged 19.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists in 38 games and was named a starter in the 1996 CBA All-Star Game. AARON McKIE --- Tuesday vs. Pacers: 3 pts (1-5 fgs, 1-1 3pt), 2 assists, 1 steal, 21 minutes . . . Sunday at the Warriors: 2 pts, 3 assists, 2 rbs, 22 minutes . . . Friday vs. Warriors: Season-high 17 pts, tied season-high 6 rbs, season-high 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 32 minutes . . . Leads Blazers regulars in three-point accuracy, hitting 50 percent (16-32) . . . Current leader in consecutive games played with 99 . . . Blazers fourth leading scorer last season (10.7 ppg) . . . Started 75 games last year at the two guard . . . Averaged 9.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in his first 126 games as a Trail Blazer . . . First round draft choice (17th overall) by Portland in 1994 . . . Last game vs. Denver: 6 pts, 1 rb, 1 steal, 1 block, 13 minutes. JERMAINE O NEAL --- Tuesday vs. Pacers: Did not play (coach's decision) . . . Activated Tuesday after spending first 17 games of the season on the injured list (bone contusion, left knee) suffered in the Oct. 25 preseason game vs. Vancouver game . . . Scored the first points as a professional player on his 18th birthday on Oct. 13 against Sacramento . . . Portland's first round pick (17th overall) in the 1996 NBA Draft out of Eau Claire High School in Columbia, S.C. ISAIAH RIDER --- Tuesday vs. Pacers: 10 pts (4-15 fgs, 0-6 3pt, 2-2 fts), 4 rbs, 2 assists, 1 block, 34 minutes . . . Sunday at the Warriors: Shared team-high honors with 13 pts, 3 assists, 3 rbs, 1 steal, 1 block, 37 minutes . . . Friday vs. Warriors: 16 pts, 5 rbs, 1 assist, 32 minutes . . . Scored 8 points and dished out a career-high 11 assists Nov. 26 at Houston---his previous high assists was 9 at Minnesota vs. the Warriors Feb. 7, 1995 . . . Came to Portland from Minnesota in a July 23 trade for James Robinson and Bill Curley and a conditonal 1st round draft choice . . . Minnesota's 1993 first round draft choice (5th overall) from UNLV . . . Averaged 18.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists in 229 games for the Timberwolves in three seasons . . . Named to the 1993-94 NBA All-Rookie First Team . . . Winner of the Gatorade Slam-Dunk Championship at the 1994 NBA All-Star Weekend . . . Last game vs. Denver: 10 pts, 4 rbs, 1 assist, 28 minutes. CLIFFORD ROBINSON --- Tuesday vs. Pacers: Equalled season high with 23 points (6-16 fgs, 1-5 3pt, 10-12 fts), 4 rbs, team-high 4 assists, season-high 51 minutes (just two shy of his career high)---Fourth 20+ game of the season . . . Sunday at the Warriors: Shared team-high honors with 13 pts, 2 rbs, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 33 minutes . . . Friday vs. Warriors: 14 pts, 4 rbs, team-high 6 assists, 1 block, 37 minutes . . . Team's second leading scorer with a 15.7 per game average . . . Portland's leading scorer the past two seasons . . . Averaged 21.1 points in 1995-96, league's 16th highest . . . Has played in all but 11 of 592 games seven-plus years as a Blazer . . Now sixth among Portland's all-time scoring leaders with 9,463 points . . . Ranks in Portland's top ten in 16 of 17 career categories . . . Only remaining Blazer from the 1990 and 1992 Western Conference Championship teams . . . Last game vs. Denver: 11 pts, 2 rbs, 5 assists, 1 block, 36 minutes. ARVYDAS SABONIS --- Tuesday vs. Pacers: 10 pts ((4-8 fgs, 2-4 fts), 7 rbs, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 20 minutes . . . Sunday at the Warriors: 9 pts, 2 rbs, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 18 minutes . . . Friday vs. Warriors: 5 pts, 3 rbs, 1 assist, 2 steals, 13 minutes . . . Scored season-high 23 points Nov. 27 at San Antonio . . . Converted a career-high 11 free throws (in 12 attempts) Nov. 9 vs. Sacramento, while registering a team-high 21 pts and a game-high 13 rebounds . . . Grabbed season-high 17 rebounds at Minnesota Nov. 7 . . . Named to the NBA's All-Rookie first team last season, the first Trail Blazer to gain such an honor since Sam Bowie in 1985 . . . Runner-up for the 1996 Schick Rookie of the Year and NBA Sixth Man honors . . . Was the first Blazers rookie in 15 years to score more than 1,000 points in a season . . . Averaged 14.5 points and 8.1 rebounds in 73 games last season . . . Gained his third Olympic Games medal during the summer in helping Lithuania to the Bronze at Atlanta . . . Last game vs. Denver: 11 pts, 6 rbs, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 25 minutes. GARY TRENT --- Tuesday vs. Pacers: 8 pts (4-9 fgs, 0-1 3pt), 6 rbs, 1 steal, 22 minutes . . . Sunday at the Warriors: 6 pts, 2 rbs, 22 minutes . . . Friday vs. Warriors: 18 pts, 10 rbs, 22 minutes . . . Nov. 26 vs. Denver: Game and career high 22 pts (9-12 fgs, 4-4 fts) and game and career-high 13 rbs in 25 minutes . . . (Previous career highs were 21 points vs. Phoenix last Jan. 19, and 11 rebounds twice, the last Feb. 7 at Minnesota. He also tied his career high of 9 field goals) . . . Fifth overall in the NBA in field goal shooting (.552 on 74-134) and 7th in free throw shooting (.879 on 29-33) . . . Averaged 7.5 points (14th highest for an NBA rookie) and 3.4 rebounds in 69 games as a Blazers last season . . . First round draft pick (11th overall) by Milwaukee in 1995 . . . Portland acquired his draft rights in an exchange with the Bucks involving Shawn Respert's draft rights . . . All-American and Mid-American Conference's leading scorer for three years in a row at Ohio University . . . Last game vs. Denver: Career-high 22 pts and 13 rbs, 1 assist, 25 minutes---shot 9-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line. RASHEED WALLACE --- Tuesday vs. Pacers: 4 pts (2-8 fgs), 4 rbs, 1 steal, 31 minutes . . . Sunday at the Warriors: 8 pts, 7 rbs, 2 blocks, 27 minutes. . . Friday vs. Warriors: Team-high 20 pts, game-high 12 rbs, 4 assists, 34 minutes---his second double-double of the season . . . Third among NBA's top field goal percentage shooters (.567 on 97-171) . . . Had career highs of 32 points and 15 field goals in 20 attempts at Golden State Nov. 5, his first 30-plus game. His previous highs were 23 points and 9 field goals as a Washington Bullet at Miami on Jan. 17 . . . Acquired by Portland, along with Mitchell Butler, from Washington in exchange for Rod Strickland and Harvey Grant on July 15 . . . 1996 NBA All-Rookie second team selection . . . Started 51 of 65 games he appeared in with the Bullets as a rookie and averaged 10.1 points a game, sixth best on the team . . . Selected in the first round (4th pick overall) by the Bullets in the 1995 NBA Draft . . . Second team All-American as a sophomore at North Carolina before becoming an early entry draft candidate . . . Last game vs. Denver: 7 pts, 4 rbs, 1 block, 19 minutes. DONTONIO WINGFIELD --- Tuesday vs. Pacers: Did not play (coach's decision) . . . Sunday at the Warriors: 3 pts, 3 rbs, 1 assist, 12 minutes . . . Friday vs. Warriors: 3 pts, 2 rbs, 1 assist, 5 minutes . . . Nov. 15 at New Jersey: 8 pts, 3 rbs, 1 assists, career-high 4 steals, season-high 26 minutes . . . Averaged 3.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 44 games with Portland last season . . . Signed as a free agent in 1995 after playing the 1994-95 season with Seattle . . . Second round draft choice (37th overall) by Seattle in 1994 . . . Became an early entry draft candidate after one year of collegiate basketball at the University of Cincinnati . . . Last game vs. Denver: 5 pts, 5 rbs, 9 minutes. John Christensen Chuck Charnquist ************************************************************ Send subscribe/unsubscribe messages to majordomo@blazers.com ************************************************************