PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS vs. WASHINGTON BULLETS GAME NO. 27 --- DEC. 23, 1996 WASHINGTON IN TOWN --- The Trail Blazers, 14-13, will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 101-99 overtime loss at Sacramento Saturday when they host the Washington Bullets in the Rose Garden tonight. The Blazers club, the NBA's youngest and least experienced team, is still two wins better than last year after 27 games, but needs to win three of its final four games in 1996 to keep from posting only its second losing record in December since 1984. Last year's team finished the month with a 5-9 mark. Portland, at the start of the season averaged 25.63 years of age, and 2.47 years NBA experience per player. Two seasons ago, Portland averaged 29.28 years in age and 6.93 years of experience, both No. 1 in the league. The current Blazers edition is 1-1 against teams from the Atlantic Division so far this season, losing at home to Orlando and defeating the Nets in New Jersey. Despite the loss to the Kings Saturday, their sixth overtime engagement this season and their fifth in the last 16 games, the Blazers come into tonight's contest with the fifth best record in the Western Conference and the third best in Pacific Division standings. 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 BLAZERS AND BULLETS --- The Trail Blazers dropped both games to Washington last season and fell behind, 35-33, in the all-time series between the two teams. The Bullets victory in Portland broke a five-game Blazers homecourt winning streak in the series. The Trail Blazers own a 22-12 advantage over the Bullets on their own maple where they have won eight of the last 10 games. Portland's last home win over the Atlantic Division club was by a 111-106 score on March 21, 1995 in Memorial Coliseum. The Bullets win in their USAir Arena last February was the first series victory their in three years and upped their all-time homecourt mark against the Blazers to 23-12. THE BLAZERS & BULLETS LAST SEASON --- Portland lost both ends of its regular season series with Washington last year, going down 112-100 in the Rose Garden and 113-97 on the Bullets floor. It was Washington's first series win since 1985-86 and only its fourth series sweep in 26 campaigns. Clifford Robinson led the Blazers with 24 points in the first matchup but the Bullets answered with 25 points from Calbert Chaney and 18 points and 17 rebounds from Gheorghe Muresan. Washington shot .545 (48-88) in that game while Portland was .379 (36-96). It was more of the same when the two teams played at Landover. Rod Strickland was Portland's leader with 20 points but the Bullets got 26 ponts from Juwan Howard, 23 from Chaney and 21 points and 16 rebounds from Uresan. In the second contest, Portland was .400 (34-85) from the floor and the Bullets .506 (44-87). WALLACE NBA'S TOP SHOOTER --- Second-year forward Rasheed Wallace has been filling the hoop at a torrid pace most of the season, and since Day 1 has been battling the Lakers Shaquille O'Neal for the top of the league's field goal percentage ladder. After Saturday's career-high 38-point performance at Sacramento during which he poured in 17 of 25 field goal attempts, his 27-game mark rocketed to its highest level of the season, .585, and well ahead of O'Neal for the No. 1 spot. In his last five games, during which he has averaged 22.6 points a contest, he has burned the nets at a .688 clip, making good on 44 of 64 shots from the floor. His current field goal percentage mark of .585 is nearly 100 percentage points better than the .487 he shot in his rookie season at Washington last year. He's currently scoring at a 15.6 ppg clip, third highest for the Blazers, after averaging 10.1 ppg in 65 games for the Bullets last year. ON OFFENSE --- Averaging 98.3 ppg, the Blazers offense is the seventh most productive in the league behind Houston, Seattle, Chicago, Utah, Golden State and Milwaukee . . . Portland has hit at a 51 percent or better clip in eight of 27 games thus far and its field goal accuracy mark of .454 is the league's 11th highest . . . In winning 14 games, the Blazers margin of victory has been 15.6 ppg, nine times the cushion has been 11 points or more and five have been plus-20 victories . . . Seven of the Blazers 13 losses have been by five points or less and five have been by three or under . . . Portland is 9-4 in games decided by 11 points or more but 3-6 when the margin is four points or under . . . Overall, Portland's edge over its opponents of 4.4 points per game is the NBA's eighth best mark. ON THE DEFENSE . . . Portland has held opponents to.428 field goal shooting in 27 games, the sixth stingiest defense in the league . . . In winning 14 games, the Blazers have held 12 of their opponents under 100 points and have allowed only nine of 27 foes to top the century mark thus far . . . Their defensive average, 93.9, is the 11th lowest in the league and is 3.1 points per game below last year's club record of 97.0 ppg in 82 games. THE REBOUNDING LEADER --- Portland, perennially among the NBA's top teams on the backboards, leads the the league in total rebounding percentage---the share of total misses in a game a team rebounds---(.542), and is second in both defensive rebounding percentage (.733) and in offensive percentage (.354). The Blazers, who grabbed a season-high 55 rebounds last night against Dallas, have had 50 or more boards in seven outings, and have been outrebounded in only four of 27 games. They have an overall advantage of 7.9 boards per game and a 5.3 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 35 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, first in field goal percentage---.585 (168-287) ---ARVYDAS SABONIS, 22nd in field goal percentage---.498 (108-217) and 17th in blocked shots (1.56) --- KENNY ANDERSON , 13th in assists (6.4), is 16th in steals (1.85), and 28th in scoring (18.4) --- CHRIS DUDLEY, 20th in blocked shots (1.52) --- CLIFFORD ROBINSON, 8th in minutes played (39.8) THE LAST THREE GAMES OT WITH THE KINGS REVISITED --- Rasheed Wallace scored a career-high 38 points at the ARCO Center Saturday, but Sacramento, behind Mitch Richmond's season-high 37 points and his layin with less than a second remaining, pulled out a 101-99 overtime win. It was Portland's second straight OT setback on the road and marked the second time in as many games between the Kings and Blazers the action has gone beyond regulation. Portland won, 92-90, in overtime when the two teams last met on Nov. 19. Wallace's career effort came on 17 of 25 field goals, also career bests. Portland shot .469 (38-81) from the field while holding the Kings to a .409 (36-88) chart, and outrebounded its hosts, 46-43. The loss gave Sacramento a 2-1 lead in this year's series. The final meeting of the year is scheduled for March 18 in Portland. Total point difference in the three clashes so far is five, and all three games have been decided with shots inside the final minute. BLAZERS ROLL OVER MAVS --- The Blazers led by only four at halftime, 49-45, but put on the defensive clamps in the second half to shackle Dallas with a 107-77 loss last night in the Rose Garden. It was Portland's fifth win in a row over Dallas, its second biggest victory of the season, and it snapped a three-game losing streak. The Trail Blazers outscored the Mavs, 31-10, in the third period to turn the game around. The 10 Dallas points equalled an all-time opponent low for the third stanza and was the fewest points in a quarter this season versus Portland. The Blazers shot 50 percent (41-82) and had 14 more field goals than the Mavericks who were limited to a .338 field goal chart (27-80). Portland dominated the boards with a season-best 55 rebounds (to 29 by Dallas). Clifford Robinson topped the Blazers with 21 points, Isaiah Rider and Gary Trent each added 18 and Reggie Jordan, playing his first game in more than a month had 8 points and tied his career-high with nine rebounds. Chris Gatling led the Mavs with 16 points. 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. GOING OVERTIME --- Saturday night's 101-99 loss at Sacramento marked the sixth time in the Blazers first 27 games action has gone into overtime, the same number of extra session contests Portland had all of last season. It was the the fifth OT outing in the last 16 games. The Blazers, who are now 2-4 in extra-session contests this season, have played more overtime games than any team in the league and are now just two away from equalling the club record for one year. In 1992-93, Portland went into overtime eight times, winning five of the games. It was the second straight OT game on the road; the Blazers dropped a 102-101 heartbreaker at the Lakers on Dec. 13. Other overtime decisions included 95-94 and 92-90 wins over Minnesota and Sacramento respectively, and losses of 102-101 to Houston, and 98-93 to Indiana. 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 the day after Christmas 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. BACK-TO-BACK --- Saturday's overtime loss at Sacramento closed out the eighth of 20 sets of back-to-back games (contests on consecutive nights) on the Blazers 1996-97 schedule and evened Portland's record in two-night combos at 8-8. Next back-to-back set comes the two days after Christmas when the Blazers play at Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers on consecutive nights. 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 Arturas Karnishovas 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. ANDERSON'S ASSISTS COUNTING UP --- Point guard Kenny Anderson, has dished out 77 assists in his last eight games and now has 172 in 27 games. That means $3,440 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. JAZZ, CLIPPERS NEXT --- Portland takes a two-day break for Christmas then hits the road, playing at Utah on Thursday (6 p.m., KEX Radio) and at the Los Angeles Clippers next Friday (7:30 p.m., KEX Radio). Next home game for Portland is Sunday, Dec. 29 against San Antonio (7:00 p.m., KEX Radio, BlazerVision). THE PLAYERS KENNY ANDERSON --- Saturday at the Kings: 11 pts (5-16 fgs, 1-8 3pt), game-high 8 assists, 8 rbs, 2 steals, 44 minutes . . . Friday vs. Dallas: 7 pts, game-high 10 assists, 3 rbs, 2 steals, 25 . . . Wednesday vs. Seattle: 21 pts, 11 assists, 5 rbs, 1 steal, 42 minutes---fourth double-double and 13th 20-plus game of the season . . . Scored a season-high 34 pts in a season-high 49 minutes Dec. 13 at the Lakers . . . 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 18.4 ppg, the assists leader (6.4 avg.) and tops in steals (1.85 avg.) . . . Ranks 28th in the NBA in scoring, 13th in assists, and 16th 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 --- Saturday at the Kings: 2 pts (2-2 fgs), 1 rb, 6 minutes . . . Friday vs. Dallas: 2 pts, 2 rbs, 1 assist, 12 minutes . . . Did not play (coach's decision) Wednesday vs. Seattle . . . 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 . . . vs. Portland as a Bullet last season: 0 pts, 1 rb, 1 steal in 7 minutes. RANDOLPH CHILDRESS --- Did not play Saturday at the Kings (coach's decision) . . . Friday vs. Dallas: 0 pts, 2 rbs, 1 assist, 5 minutes . . . Wednesday vs. Seattle: 0 pts, 6 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 . . . . vs. Washington last season: Scored 2 pts and had 1 assist and 1 steal in 11 minutes of Game 1. ALEKSANDAR DJORDJEVIC --- Placed on injured list (upper respiratory infection) on Friday . . . Did not play (coach's decision) Wednesday vs. Seattle . . . 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 2) . . . 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 in four years in the Italian League. CHRIS DUDLEY --- Saturday at the Kings: 5 pts (2-3 fgs, 1-2 fts), 7 rbs, 1 block, 28 minutes . . . Friday vs. Dallas: 6 pts, 8 rbs, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 22 minutes . . . Wednesday vs. Seattle: 4 pts, 5 rbs, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 20 minutes in second start of the season . . . 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 (7.4 rpg) and blocked shots (1.52) despite starting just two games thus far . . . Ranks 20th in the league 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 . . . 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 . . . vs. Washington last season: Averaged 9.5 pts, 6.5 rbs, 1.0 blocks, 23.5 minutes in two starts. REGGIE JORDAN --- Saturday at the Kings: 0 pts, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 9 minutes . . . Friday vs. Dallas: Scored season-high 8 pts (2-2 fgs, 4-6 fts), grabbed 9 rbs (tieing career high) plus season-high 3 assists and 23 minutes of play . . Activated Friday after being on injured list (injured joint, left thumb) since Nov. 26 . . . 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 1995-96 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 --- Saturday at the Kings: 5 pts (2-3 fgs, 1-1 3pt), 4 rbs, 2 assists, 1 block, 28 minutes . . . Friday vs. Dallas: 2 pts, 2 rbs, 1 assist, 12 minutes . . . Wednesday vs. Seattle: 0 pts, 1 rb, 1 assist, 10 minutes . . . 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 .488 (20-41) . . . Played in his 108th consecutive game Saturday, 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 . . . vs. Washington last season: Averaged 4.0 pts, 1.0 rbs, 0.5 assists and 21.5 minutes in two starts. JERMAINE O'NEAL --- Did not play Saturday at the Kings (coach's decision) . . . Friday vs. Dallas: 4 pts, 3 rbs, 1 assist, 16 minutes . . . Wednesday vs. Seattle: 7 points (3-6 fgs), 5 rbs, 18 minutes---all career highs . . . 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 was 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 --- Saturday at the Kings: 8 pts (3-9 fgs, 2-2 fts), 3 assists, 3 rbs, 1 steal, 26 minutes . . . Friday vs. Dallas: 18 pts, 2 assists, 1 steal, 31 minutes . . . Wednesday vs. Seattle: Equalled season-high with 23 pts, season and game-high 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 38 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 --- Saturday at the Kings: 16 pts (5-15 fgs, 2-5 f=3pt, 4-5 fts), 4 rbs, 3 assists, 2 steals, season-high 4 blocked shots . . . Friday vs. Dallas: Game-high 21 pts, 5 rbs, 3 assists, 32 minutes---the shortest span of floor duty since Nov. 10 . . . Wednesday vs. Seattle: 18 pts, 7 rbs, 4 assists, 44 minutes. . . Poured in his 400th career three-pointer Dec. 12 versus Vancouver. Robinson has least one long-ranger in 24 of 26 games and in 95 of 104 over two seasons . . . Scored game high 33 pts Dec. 10 vs. Orlando . . . Played a season-high 51 minutes (just two shy of his career high) vs. Indiana Nov. 3 . . . Ranks 8th in the NBA in minutes played (39.8) . . . Leading scorer the past two seasons . . . Averaged 21.1 points in 1995-96, league's 16th highest . . . Has played in all but 11 of 601 games in seven-plus years as a Blazer . . Now sixth among Portland's all-time scoring leaders with 9,631 points . . . Ranks in top ten in 16 of 17 career categories . . . Only remaining Blazer from the 1990 and 1992 Western Conference Championship teams . . vs. Washington last season: Blazers leading scorer, averaging 21.5 pts plus 2.5 rbs, 1.0 assists, 33.5 minutes in two games. ARVYDAS SABONIS --- Saturday at the Kings: 8 pts (2-7 fgs, 0-2 3pt, 4-4 fts), team-high 11 rbs, 1 assists, 3 blocks . . . Friday vs. Dallas: 9 pts, 6 rbs, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 20 minutes . . . Wednesday vs. Seattle: 8 pts, 3 rbs, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 27 minutes in first non-start of the season . . . Played a career-high 41 minutes in the Dec. 13 overtime loss at the Lakers . . . 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 (7.6 rpg) and blocked shots (1.57) . . . Stands 22nd in NBA field goal accuracy at .505 (108-217) and 17th in blocks . . . On 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 . . . Gained his third Olympic Games medal during the summer in helping Lithuania to the Bronze at Atlanta . . . vs. Washington last season: Averaged 18.0 pts, 8.5 rbs, 1.5 blocks, 2.0 assists in 25.0 minutes in two games. GARY TRENT --- Saturday at the Kings: 6 pts (2-3 fgs, 2-4 fts), 3 rbs, 13 minutes . . . Friday vs. Dallas: 18 pts, shared game-high rebound honors with 9, 1 assist, 26 minutes---most points in 10 games . . . Wednesday vs. Seattle: 2 pts, 1 steal, 10 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 . . . vs. Washington last season: Averaged 9.5 pts, 7.0 rbs, 1.5 assists and 23.5 minutes in two games. RASHEED WALLACE --- Saturday at the Kings: Career and team season-high 38 pts on career-high 17 of 25 fgs (plus 4-5 fts), 5 rbs, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 40 minutes---previous highs of 32 pts, 15-20 fgs, came Nov. 5 at Golden State . . . Friday vs. Dallas: 12 pts, 6 rbs, 1 block, 16 minutes . . . Wednesday vs. Seattle: 19 pts, 6 rbs, 1 block, 1 steal, 25 minutes . . . Converted a career-high 11 free throws (in 15 tries) while scoring 29 points in the Dec. 13 OT loss at the Lakers . . . . . Grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds vs. Vancouver Dec. 12 . . . No. 1 among NBA's top field goal percentage shooters (.585 on 168-287) . . . His 32 points at Golden State Nov. 5 was the first 30-plus game of his career . . . 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 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 . . . vs. Portland as a Bullet last season: Averaged 10.5 pts, 2.5 rbs, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals, 22.5 minutes and shot 75 percent from the field (9-12) and 100 percent (2-2) from three-point range. DONTONIO WINGFIELD --- Placed on injured list Friday (sprained left thumb suffered in Thursday game with Vancouver) . . . Dec. 12 vs. Vancouver: Did not mark in 2 minutes of play . . . Played 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 . . . Did not play in either game vs. Washington last season. John Christensen Chuck Charnquist ************************************************************ Send subscribe/unsubscribe messages to majordomo@blazers.com ************************************************************