PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS vs. DALLAS MAVERICKS GAME NO. 26 --- DEC. 20, 1996 MEETING THE MAVERICKS --- The Trail Blazers, 13-12, will be looking to break a three-game losing streak, their longest of the season, when they meet the Dallas Mavericks for the first time this season in the Rose Garden on Friday. They also will be out to snap a two-game home loss string, also their longest of the season. Portland, which has lost four of its last five and six of its last nine, is still two wins better than last year's team after 25 games. Wednesday's 106-102 setback to Seattle in the final minute was the team's third heartbreaker at the hands of the NBA's elite. Last Friday, The young Blazers club dropped a 120-119 overtime decision to the Lakers in the Great Western Forum and two weeks ago lost, 102-101, in overtime to the Rockets in Houston. The Blazers come into the Dallas game with a 7-3 overall record and a 4-1 homecourt mark against Midwest Division teams. Seven of Portland's 12 losses so far have been by six points or less. 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 DALLAS SERIES --- The Trail Blazers swept their third four-game set in five years from the Mavericks last season and now lead the all-time series between the two teams, 46-26. Portland is 29-7 in games played at home against the Mavs, has won two in a row here and 14 of the last 16. The Texas club's last win in Portland was by a 102-90 score on April 15, 1995. In Dallas, the Blazers have won two straight but trail the Mavericks, 19-17. THE BLAZERS AND MAVS LAST YEAR --- Portland made it a clean sweep last season, capturing all four games by margins of nine points or better. The Blazers protected home base with victories of 112-86 and 114-99, and won in Dallas, 112-103 and 115-100. Portland shot a sizzling .533 from the floor in the four games and held the Mavs to a .389 field goal mark for the series. Nine of the 12 Blazers to put points on the board against Dallas last season shot 50 percent or better from the field, led by Arvydas Sabonis .644 (29-45). Clifford Robinson led all Portland scorers with a 20.0 ppg average. The Blazers outscored Dallas by an average of 16.2 ppg and had a huge 13 rebound per game advantage, 52.5-39.5. SASHA SECOND IN EUROPEAN POLL --- Blazers guard Aleksandar (Sasha) Djordjevic has finished second in the 1995-96 European Player of the Year balloting. Results of the poll, announced this week, had FC Barcelona's ArturasKarnishovas edging out Sasha by 19 votes for the top honor. Last year, Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis received Europe's highest basketball honor. Djordjevic helped lead Yugoslavia to the Sliver Medal at the 1996 Olympics and was a leading scorer in the Italian League. Karnishovas also has a Blazers connection. He played for P.J. Carlesimo at Seton Hall and was a member of the Blazers Summer League team at the Rocky Mountain Revue in 1994. KENNY ANDERSON ON A ROLL --- Point guard Kenny Anderson scored 21 points and dished out 11 assists Wednesday against Seattle, his second double-double in a row and his fourth of the season. It was the fourth straight 20-plus game and a team-best 13th of the season for Anderson, who is the Blazers' top point producer at 19.2 ppg and leads the club in assists with a 6.2 average. He's scored 20 or more point in six of his last eight games and is averaging 23.1 points and 7.8 assists in that span. In addition to leading the team in scoring and assists, he's the club s No. 4 rebounder with a 4.8 rpg average, leads the team in steals with a 1.84 average and is the top long range shooter with 42 treys in 117 attempts. ON OFFENSE --- The Blazers offense the ninth most productive in the league, averaging 97.9 points per game . . . Portland has hit at a 51 percent or better clip in seven of 25 games thus far and its field goal accuracy mark of .451 is the league's 13th highest . . . In winning 13 games, the Blazers margin of victory has been 14.5 ppg, eight times the cushion has been 11 points or more and four have been plus-20 victories . . . Half of the Blazers 12 losses have been by five points or less and three have been by one point . . . Overall, Portland's edge over its opponents of 3.6 points per game is the NBA's ninth best mark. ON THE DEFENSE . . . Portland has held opponents to.432 field goal shooting in 25 games, the eighth stingiest defense in the league . . . In winning 13 games, the Blazers have held 11 of their opponents under 100 points and have allowed only seven of 25 foes to top the century mark thus far . . . Their defensive average, 94.3, is the 11th lowest in the league and is 2.7 points below last year's club record of 97.0 ppg in 82 games. REBOUNDING AGAIN --- Portland, perennially among the NBA's top teams on the backboards, is leads the the league in total rebounding percentage---the share of total misses in a game a team rebounds---(.541), and is second in both defensive rebounding percentage (.729) and in offensive percentage (.352). The Blazers, who have had 50 or more boards in six outings, have been outrebounded in only four of 25 games. They have an overall advantage of 7.4 boards per game and a 4.6 per game margin on the defensive glass. Portland, among top five teams in the league for the past nine years, is the leader again this season despite not having an individual among the league's top 30 rebounders. (Note: Rebounding percentages on offense are based on the share of its own misses a team retrieves, and on the defense the share of opponents misses it grabs. Total rebounding percentage is an average of the offense and defense percentages.) AMONG THE NBA LEADERS --- RASHEED WALLACE, second in field goal percentage---.570 (146-156). ---ARVYDAS SABONIS, 19th in field goal percentage--- .507 (103-203) and 21st in blocked shots (1.44) --- KENNY ANDERSON , 14th in assists (6.2), is 17th in steals (1.84), and 23rd in scoring (19.2) --- CHRIS DUDLEY, 19th in blocked shots (1.48) --- CLIFFORD ROBINSON, 7th in minutes played (39.8) A CLOSE ONE WITH THE SONICS --- Twenty-one lead changes, 13 ties and it came down to the final minute before Seattle could escape the Rose Garden with a 106-102 victory over the Blazers. The score was knotted at 102-102 at the 49 second mark but Sonics iced the game by hitting four of five free throws down the stretch. The Blazers lost an opportunity to get the lead back with 3.8 seconds remaining when Isaiah Rider was called for offensive charging on a drive to the basket. Rider equalled his season high with 23 points to lead Portland and had a season-high 11 boards to top all rebounders. Sam Perkins tallied 25 points for the winners. Portland shot .475 (38-80) and Seattle .486 (34-70) while the Blazers had a 43-35 rebounding edge. The loss extended Portland's losing streak to three games, the longest of the season and was the second in a row at home. ROCKETS SHOOT PAST BLAZERS --- Portland went down to its second loss in three days at the hands of a division leader when the Houston Rockets posted a 99-89 victory in the Rose Garden Sunday. After being outscored, 21-12, in the second quarter and trailing at intermission, 46-37, the Blazers went on a 9-0 run to open the third stanza to tie the game. But the Rockets, playing without Charles Barkley (sprained ankle) rallied behind Hakeem Olajuwon (26 points) and Clyde Drexler (22 points) to pull out their league-best 21st victory in 23 games. Kenny Anderson had another big game for the Blazers, registering his third double-double and his fourth straight plus-20 game with 26 points and 10 assists. The Blazers shot 38 percent (32-84) compared with the Rockets 52 percent mark (34-66) and were outrebounded for only the fifth time this season, 39-33. LAKERS TAKE OT WIN --- Kenny Anderson scored a season-high 34 points at Los Angeles Friday but Laker center Shaquille O Neal, who also had 34 points, blocked Kenny's potential game-winner with 2 seconds remaining in overtime as the Blazers dropped a 120-119 heartbreaker at the Great Western Forum. Portland suffered its third loss in five overtime sessions this season and its first in the last four visits to Laker land despite shooting a season-high .532 from the field (42-79). Los Angeles hit at a .469 clip (45-92). Rasheed Wallace had 29 for the Blazers, including 9-of-10 from field and a career-high 11 free throws in 15 attempts. Portland was outrebounded for only the fourth time in 23 games, 40-38. The Blazers were ahead, 82-77, entering the final stanza and were up by eight, 97-89, with 7:16 remaining. YOUTH MOVEMENT --- Portland, with an average age of 25.63 years, is the NBA's youngest team 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). 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. GOING BACK-TO-BACK --- Friday's Dallas game opens the eighth of 20 sets of back-to-back games (contests on consecutive nights) on the Blazers 1996-97 schedule. Portland plays at Sacramento tomorrow night. So far, the Blazers have broken even (7-7) in two-night stands, are 1-1 when the opener is played in the Rose Garden and are 3-4 overall in first nights of the back-to-back combos. ANDERSON'S ASSISTS COUNTING UP --- Point guard Kenny Anderson, has dished out 59 assists in his last six games and now has 154 in 25 games. That means $3,080 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, has pledged $20 for every assist he makes during the season. As part of the NBA's major youth initiative TeamUp, the Trail Blazers 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 posted his 100th NBA career success Dec. 6 as his Blazers stopped Charlotte, 97-93. In his third season at the Portland helm, he became the fourth coach in franchise history to reach the century mark. The others are his three predecessors, Jack Ramsay (453-367), Mike Schuler (127-84) and Rick Adelman (291-154). Last season, Carlesimo guided Portland to a 44-38 record for the second year in a row. In 1994-95, he became only the second coach since Cotton Fitzsimmons in 1970-71 to move directly from the college to an NBA head coaching job and have a winning record in his first season. TOMORROW NIGHT IN SACRAMENTO --- After Friday's clash with the Mavericks, the Blazers head for Sacramento for a Saturday matchup with the Kings (7:30 p.m., KEX Radio), their third of the season. Portland returns home Monday to host Washington (7 p.m., KEX Radio, BlazerVision), takes a two-day Christmas break then heads out on the road again with games Thursday at Utah (6 p.m., KEX Radio) and next Friday at the Los Angeles Clippers (7:30 p.m., KEX Radio). THE PLAYERS KENNY ANDERSON --- Wednesday vs. Seattle: 21 pts (8-19 fgs, 2-8 3pt, 3-3 fts), 11 assists, 5 rbs, 1 steal, 42 minutes---fourth double-double and 13th 20-plus game of the season . . . Sunday vs. Rockets: Tied for game-high honors with 26 pts, game-high 10 assists, 1 rb, season high-equalling 5 steals, 44 minutes . . . Friday at Lakers: Season-high 34 pts, 5 assists, 7 rbs, season-high 49 minutes . . . Scored 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 19.2 ppg, the assists leader (6.2 avg.) and tops in steals (1.84 avg.) . . . Ranks 23rd in the NBA in scoring, 14th in assists, and 17th 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. 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 --- Did not play (coach's decision) Wednesday vs. Seattle . . . Sunday vs. Rockets: 2 pts, 1 rb, 9 minutes . . . Friday at Lakers: 2 pts (0-1 fgs, 2-2 fts), 4 minutes . . . Activiated Dec. 13 after spending previous five games on injured list (tendonitis, both knees) . . . 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. RANDOLPH CHILDRESS --- Wednesday vs. Seattle: 0 pts (0-1 3pt), 6 minutes . . . Did not play (coach's decision) Sunday vs. Rockets . . . Friday at Lakers: 2 pts, 1 assists, 4 minutes . . . Scored season-high 7 points vs. Vancouver Dec. 12 . . . Had career-high 6 assists, 3 steals, and a season-high 18 minutes vs. Denver Nov. 23 . . . 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 season vs. Dallas: Did not play in any of the four games (injured list). ALEKSANDAR DJORDJEVIC --- Did not play (coach's decision) Wednesday vs. Seattle . . . Sunday vs. Rockets: 0 pts, 4 minutes . . . Friday at Lakers: Did not play (coach's decision) . . . Sank 5 of 7 three-pointers in his first eight games . . . Played in first regular season NBA game Nov. 29 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 . . . 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 . . . Runner-up for European Player of the Year honors in 1995-96 (see note on Page 1) . . . Helped lead Yugoslavia take the Silver Medal at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta . . . Yugoslavia s second leading scorer with an 11.3 ppg 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 --- Wednesday vs. Seattle: 4 pts (1-2 fgs, 2-6 fts), 5 rbs, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 20 minutes in second start of the season . . . Sunday vs. Rockets: 0 pts, 4 rbs, 1 block, 16 minutes . . . Friday at Lakers: 4 pts, 2 rbs, foul-limiting 17 minutes . . . Blocked a season-high five shots Dec. 1 at Golden State . . . Had a season-high 13 rebounds at New Jersey Nov. 15 . . . Second on team in rebounding (7.5 rpg) and blocked shots leader (1.50) despite starting just two games thus far . . . Ranks 37th in the league in rebounding and 18th 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 586 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 season vs. Dallas: Averaged 4.5 pts, 8.5 rbs, 0.5 blocks, 1.0 steals, 23.3 minutes (.316 fgs, 6-19). 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 --- Wednesday vs. Seattle: 0 pts, 1 rb, 1 assist, 10 minutes . . . Sunday vs. Rockets: 3 pts, 2 rbs, 2 assists, 17 minutes . . . Friday at Lakers: 0 pts, 1 rb, 2 assists, 18 minutes in his sixth start of the season. . . Played a season-high 41 minutes, scoring 7 points and dishing out 5 assists vs. Orlando Dec. 10 . . . Leads Blazers regulars in three-point accuracy at .500 (19-38) . . . Played in his 105th consecutive game Sunday, the Blazers longest current run . . . 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 season vs. Dallas: Averaged 8.3 pts, 4.5 rbs, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 25.0 minutes (.520 fgs, 13-25), in four starts. JERMAINE O NEAL --- Wednesday vs. Seattle: 7 points (3-6 fgs), 5 rbs, 18 minutes---all career highs . . . Did not play (coach's decision) Sunday vs. Rockets . . . Friday at Lakers: 2 pts, 2 rbs, 3 minutes . . . Has converted 8 of his first 15 shots in the NBA while playing a total of 36 minutes in five games . . . Became the youngest player ever to participate in an NBA regular season game Dec. 5 at Denver, entering the contest at 7:24 of the second period. He was 1-of-1 from the floor in three minutes of action . . . At 18 years, 1 month and 21 days, he is the youngest since the Lakers Kobe Bryant, who was 18 years, 2 months, 11 days when he appeared in his first game on Nov. 3 . . . Activated Dec. 3 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 --- Wednesday vs. Seattle: Equalled season-high with 23 pts (7-17 fgs, 0-3 3pt, 9-10 fts), season and game-high 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 38 minutes . . . Sunday vs. Rockets: 12 pts, 6 rbs, 1 assist, 31 minutes . . . Friday at Lakers: 11 pts, 5 rbs, 5 assists, 35 minutes . . . Dished out a career-high 11 assists Nov. 26 at Houston . . . Tallied a season-high 23 points at Sacramento Nov. 9 . . . Has had five 20+ games this season . . . Came to Portland from Minnesota in a July 23 trade for James Robinson and Bill Curley and a conditional 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. CLIFFORD ROBINSON --- Wednesday vs. Seattle: 18 pts (8-16 fgs, 1-6 3pt, 1-2 fts), 7 rbs, 4 assists, 44 minutes. . . Sunday vs. Rockets: 13 pts, 2 rbs, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 38 minutes . . . Friday at Lakers: 18 pts, 3 rbs, team-high 6 assists, 49 minutes---second game in a row and fifth time this season he s led team in assists; he did it only six times total in the previous two campaigns . . . Poured in his 400th career three-pointer Dec. 12 versus Vancouver. Robinson has least one long-ranger in 23 of 25 games and in 94 of 103 over two seasons . . . Scored game high 33 pts, his seventh 20-point-plus game of the season and his fifth in eight games, Dec. 10 vs. Orlando . . . Played a season-high 51 minutes (just two shy of his career high) vs. Indiana Nov. 3 . . . Team s second leading scorer with a 16.5 ppg average . . . Ranks seventh in the NBA in minutes played (39.7) . . . Leading scorer the past two seasons . . . Averaged 21.1 points in 1995-96, league's 16th highest . . . Has played in all but 11 of 596 games seven-plus years as a Blazer . . Now sixth among Portland's all-time scoring leaders with 9,545 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 season vs. Dallas: Averaged team-best 20.0 pts, 3.8 rbs, 2.0 assists, 1.3 blocks, 32.3 minutes (.527 fgs, 29-55, .533 3pt, 8-15), in four starts. ARVYDAS SABONIS --- Wednesday vs. Seattle: 8 pts (3-5 fgs, 1-2 3pt, 1-2 fts), 3 rbs, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 27 minutes in first non-start of the season . . . Sunday vs. Rockets: 18 pts, team-high 9 rbs, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 32 minutes . . . Friday at Lakers: 13 pts, team-high 9 rbs, 3 assists, 1 steal, season high-tieing 4 blocks, career-high 41 minutes (previous high was 39 last season vs. Houston) . . . 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 . . . Team s leading rebounder (7.5 rpg) and second in blocked shots (1.44) . . . Stands 19th in NBA field goal accuracy at .507 (103-203) . . . 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 season vs. Dallas: Averaged 18.3 pts, 10.0 rbs, 1.3 blocks, 1.0 steals, 23.0 minutes (.644 fgs, 29-44) in four games, including three starts. GARY TRENT --- Wednesday vs. Seattle: 2 pts (1-2 fgs), 1 steal, 10 minutes . . . Sunday vs. Rockets: 0 pts, 1 assists, 8 minutes . . . Friday at Lakers: 4 pts, 1 assist, 9 minutes . . . Thursday vs. Vancouver: 10 pts, 6 rbs, 1 assist, 26 minutes . . . Scored a game and career high 22 pts (9-12 fgs, 4-4 fts) and claimed a game and career-high 13 rbs in 25 minutes Nov. 26 at Denver . . . Averaged 7.5 points (14th highest for an NBA rookie) and 3.4 rebounds in 69 games as a Blazer last season . . . First round draft pick (11th overall) by Milwaukee in 1995 . . . Portland acquired his draft rights in an exchange 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 season vs. Dallas: Averaged 5.0 pts, 2.7 rbs, 1.3 assists, 10.7 minutes in three games. RASHEED WALLACE --- Wednesday vs. Seattle: 19 pts (7-12 fgs, 2-2 3pt, 3-7 fgs), 6 rbs, 1 block, 1 steal, 25 minutes . . . Sunday vs. Rockets: 15 pts, 7 rbs, equalled season high with 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, season high-tieing 40 minutes . . . Friday at Lakers: 29 pts (9-10 fgs, 11-15 fts), team-high 9 rbs, 1 assist, 1 block, 36 minutes---11 fts a career high . . . Grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds vs. Vancouver Dec. 12 . . . Second behind Shaquille O Neal among NBA's top field goal percentage shooters (.570 on 146-256) . . . Had career highs of 32 points and 15 field goals in 20 attempts at Golden State Nov. 5, his first 30-plus game . . . 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 . . . 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. DONTONIO WINGFIELD --- Placed on injured list Friday (sprained left thumb suffered in Thursday game with Vancouver) . . . Thursday vs. Vancouver: Did not mark in 2 minutes of play . . . Not with team Tuesday (stomach virus) . . . Did not play (coach's decision) in previous three games . . . Posted a career-high 4 steals and 8 points in a season-high 26 minutes at New Jersey Nov. 15. . . 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 season vs. Dallas: Averaged 8.3 pts, 3.7 rbs, 1.0 steals, 14.0 minutes in three games. John Christensen Chuck Charnquist ************************************************************ Send subscribe/unsubscribe messages to majordomo@blazers.com ************************************************************