PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS at BOSTON CELTICS GAME NO. 46 --- JANUARY 31, 1997 Record: Overall---25-20, Home---14-8, Road---11-12 TAKING ON THE CELTICS --- The Trail Blazers, 25-20, head into Boston Friday for the third stop on their current four-game Eastern road trip, looking to snap a two-game losing streak. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Portland dropped decisions in Toronto and Detroit, respectively. The Blazers, who had won 11 of 15 before heading east, will be out to avoid extending their losing string to three in a row which would equal their longest of the season. Portland's matchup with Boston will be the first of two meetings with the Atlantic Division club. The rematch is scheduled in the Rose Garden on Sunday, Feb. 15. Despite losing the last two, the Blazers are still four wins better than a year ago after 45 games. With a game remaining in January, the Blazers at 9-5 already have as many wins for the month as in any of the previous three years and are assured of having a winning January for the 11th time in the last 12 campaigns. Portland has won five of its last eight on the road and and packs an even 11-12 road log. That is a considerable improvement over a year ago when the Blazers didn t get their 11th road victory until March 1, and the 30th away game of the season. The Blazers, with a 21-11 mark in Western Conference play, have more wins than any team in the West and overall own the conference's fifth best record, and the third best in the Pacific Division. Against Eastern Conference competition thus far, the Blazers are 4-9 and are 1-3 against Atlantic Division teams. PROBABLE STARTERS --- F-- No. 3 Clifford Robinson (6-10), F--No. 33 Gary Trent (6-8), C--No. 24 Chris Dudley (6-11), G--No. 34 Isaiah Rider (6-5), G--No. 7 Kenny Anderson (6-1). BLAZERS ACQUIRE AUGMON --- Stacey Augmon, a 6-foot-8 forward-guard in his sixth NBA season, was acquired by the Trail Blazers last Friday from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for guards Randolph Childress, Aaron McKie and Reggie Jordan. Also on Friday, Portland signed veteran guard and former Trail Blazer Ennis Whately to a 10-day contract. (See Player Notes for profiles.) INJURY REPORT --- Arvydas Sabonis was placed on the injured list (hematoma, left calf) on Friday and will be out at least five games. The injury occurred with 7:15 remaining in Wednesday's game at Seattle . . . Rasheed Wallace (fractured left thumb), is on injured list for his 16th game (fifth week). THE BLAZERS-BOSTON SERIES --- Portland has won five straight against the Boston Celtics but still trails in the all-time series, 43-27. The Celts last series victory happened Dec. 3, 1993, in the Boston Garden, 114-108. The Blazers are 11-24 all-time in Beantown but two of those wins have come on the last two visits. In Portland, the Boston club has 19-16 series advantage but the Blazers have won three in a row and six of the last eight. LAST SEASON vs. THE CELTICS --- The Trail Blazers swept last season's two-game series with Boston, clobbering the Celtics on their first visit to the Rose Garden on Dec. 27, 135-109, then a week later scoring a 114-110 overtime victory in the new Fleet Center. In the first game, the Blazers scored their most points ever under Coach P.J. Carlesimo as they roared to a 62-43 halftime lead then outscored the visitors 43-32 in the third period to increase the bulge to 105-75 lead going into the last 12 minutes. Rod Strickland had 27 points and 18 assists, Arvydas Sabonis 24 points and Clifford Robinson 23 to lead the OT win in Boston. For the two-game series, the Blazers averaged 124.5 points and shot 47% from the field while the Celtics averaged 109.5 points for a 41% field goal chart. Portland outrebounded Boston, 52.5-46.0 in the two games. Robinson, with a 26.5 average, and Strickland, 21.0, led seven Blazers in double-figure scoring in the two games. UP STEPS TRENT --- When 6-10 power forward Rasheed Wallace, the team's fourth leading scorer (15.2 ppg) and the NBA's field goal percentage leader (.588), went down with a broken thumb in the Dec. 23 Washington game, into the gap stepped Gary Trent---big time! In the 17 games since Trent moved into the starting rotation, the Blazers are 11-6. In that span, he has averaged 13.9 points but more impressively has converted at a .583 rate from the field (95-163) and .783 from the free throw line and twice has posted career-high 24 point totals. In his last six outings, Trent has burned the nets on 41-59 field goal attempts (.695), is 23-30 from the line (.767), and has averaged 17.5 points a game. ON DEFENSE . . . Portland has the eighth toughest defense in the league to shoot against, holding foes to .434 field goal accuracy in 45 games . . . Twelve times they have kept opponents below the 40 percent mark and 25 times below 45 percent . . . In winning 25 games, the Blazers have held 21 opponents under 100 points and overall have allowed only 13 of 45 to top the century mark . . . Their defensive average, 94.8, is the league's 13th lowest. ON OFFENSE --- The Blazers have the eighth most productive offense in the league, averaging 98.0 points a contest . . . In winning 25 games, the Blazers margin of victory has been 13.1 ppg, with the cushion being 10 or more points in 13 games and 20 or more six times . . . Portland's overall point margin of +3.3 is the league's 11th best . . . The Blazers field goal accuracy mark of .457 is the 12th highest in the league . . . They have topped 50 percent field goal shooting 11 times . . . Twelve of the Blazers 20 losses have been by six points or less, seven have been by three or under, and four have been one-pointers . . . Portland is 13-7 in games decided by 10 points or more but 6-9 when the margin is four points or under and 2-6 when its two or under. ON THE BOARDS --- Portland has outrebounded 36 of 45 opponents this season and nine times has claimed 50 or more misses in a game . . . The Blazers lead the NBA in total rebounding percentage---the share of total misses in a game a team rebounds---(.530), are third in defensive rebounding percentage (.722) and fourth in offensive percentage (.337) . . . The Blazers have an overall advantage of 5.8 boards per game and a 4.3 per game margin on the defensive glass . . . Among the top five rebounding teams in the league for the past nine years, Portland again is the leader despite not having an individual among the league's top 30. AMONG THE NBA LEADERS ---RASHEED WALLACE, 1st in field goal percentage---.588 (170-289) ---GARY TRENT, 5th in field goal percentage---.547 (193-353) ---ARVYDAS SABONIS, 26th in field goal percentage---.491 (195-397) and 23rd in blocked shots (1.34) ---KENNY ANDERSON , 13th in assists (7.0), is 16th in steals (1.80), 32nd in scoring (17.6), 37th in 3-point accuracy, .372 (71-191), 33rd in minutes played (37.9) ---CHRIS DUDLEY, 21st in blocked shots (1.47) ---CLIFFORD ROBINSON, 25th in minutes played (38.4) THE LAST THREE GAMES COMING UP SHORT --- The Blazers jumped to an early 24-6 lead but it didn t hold up as they scored only 35 points in the middle two quarters and fell to Detroit in the Palace of Auburn Hills, 98-89, on Wednesday. The setback, Portland's second straight on its four-game Eastern road swing, allowed the Pistons to gain a split in the season series. Six Blazers scored in double figures in the game, led by Kenny Anderson s 14 points; Portland outshot Detroit from the field (48% to 43%) and had four more field goals (33-29) but still came up short. Grant Hill and Joe Dumars paced the Pistons with 27 and 20 points respectively. For the second straight game, the Blazers were outrebounded, this time 39-34. Chris Dudley had 10 boards to lead the Blazers effort. SNOWBALLED IN TORONTO --- The Trail Blazers' shooting was as cold as the Canadian winter outside the SkyDome last night. Result: Portland lost for the second time in 12 days to the Toronto Raptors, this time by a 120-84 score. It was the biggest loss margin by a Blazers team in 10 years, going back to Jan. 1, 1987 (Lakers 140-104). Portland, opening a four-game Eastern road swing, had six players score in double figures led by Isaiah Rider s 16 points, but shot only 39% from the field (33-85) while the Raptors were hitting at a 50% clip (41-82). Toronto s Doug Christie led all scorers with 33 points, 17 of them in the first quarter. The Blazers fell behind 35-25 after the first 12 minutes and were behind, 73-39 at intermission. The Raptors outrebounded Portland, 46-43, and swatted away 16 Blazers shots (a franchise record). Portland came up with 15 blocks of its own (two shy of the team's all-time mark) and the two teams combined for a Blazers record 31 rejections. TAMING THE WOLVES --- After a slow start, the Trail Blazers put the clamps on Minnesota and outscored the Wolves, 49-35, in the second half to post a 101-94 victory in the Rose Garden on Saturday, their 11th win in their last 14 games and a sweep of back-to-back games. The previous night they ran past the Suns in Phoenix, 115-105. Isaiah Rider sparked the Portland effort, scoring 18 of his team-high 26 points in the second half. Kenny Anderson added 19 and Gary Trent 18. Clifford Robinson chipped in 15 and equalled his career high with nine assists. The Wolves Kevin Garnett had a game-high 32 points but only eight in the final two quarters. The Blazers shot 49% for the game (39-79) and Minnesota 47% (39-83). Led by Chris Dudley's 12 rebounds, Portland grabbed a 43-37 edge on the glass. ROAD WARRIORS --- Portland is 11-12 on the road after losing two in a row. . . The Jan. 22nd one-point loss at Seattle snapped a league-best four-game road winning streak, their longest in five years . . . Of their 12 road losses, seven have been by three points or less and four have been one pointers (two of them in overtime). KEEPING BUSY --- Wednesday's game at Detroit was the 10th in 16 days (record 6-4) for the Blazers and the closer of the fourth set of back-to-back games in that stretch. Friday's game at Boston will be the 11th in an 18-day span since January 14. In the first 13 days of the month, Portland played just four games. BACK-TO-BACKS --- Wednesday's loss at Detroit out the 13th of 21 back-to-back sets of games on the Blazers 1996-97 schedule and the third of three such combinations in a span of nine days. The Trail Blazers, are now 13-13 overall in two-night combos. The next two-night set comes on February 15 and 16 when Portland is at home against Houston and Boston on consecutive nights. BLAZERS MILESTONES --- Kenny Anderson's season-high 15 assists at Phoenix on Friday allowed him to reach the 3,000 plateau in his career . . . Clifford Robinson and Chris Dudley both played in their 600th NBA game Jan. 17 versus Toronto. . . Robinson has moved past Geoff Petrie as Portland's fifth all-time leading scorer and now, with 9,872 points, is closing in on becoming only the fifth Trail Blazer to reach 10,000. CHRIS DUDLEY, STEVE YOUNG . . . --- Blazers center Chris Dudley has been named one of five recipients of USA Weekend magazine's fourth annual Most Caring Athlete Awards. Other 1997 honorees who are being recognized by the magazine for their humanitarian efforts off the field are 49er quarterback Steve Young, Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Curt Schilling, LPGA golfer Val Skinner and tennis star Chanda Rubin. Dudley, 1996 winner of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award presented annually by the Professional Basketball Writers Association, was recognized by USA Weekend for work among children and young adults. Diagnosed as a diabetic when he was 16, Dudley's charitable work includes a $100,000 gift to Oregon's Gales Creek Camp for diabetic youth; $300,000 to the I Have a Dream Foundation to sponsor college scholarships for 76 at-risk pupils at Portland's Vernon Elementary School when they finish high school, and last summer sponsoring Oregon's first basketball camp for diabetics. ANDERSON'S ASSISTS COUNTING UP --- Kenny Anderson has now dished out 316 assists for the season (7.1 per game, 13th best in the league). That means $6,320 so far for the Kids Making Miracles $1 million drive to fund a state-of-the-art health care facility at Portland's Doernbecher Children s Hospital. 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, a volunteer organization of grade and high school students throughout Oregon and southwest Washington. ATTENDANCE IN TOP THREE --- The Trail Blazers, despite playing in the league's fourth smallest market area, rank behind only Charlotte and Chicago in home game attendance as the season passes the midway point. All 22 Blazers home games thus far have been in the 20,000-plus category with total attendance 428,741 and the average through Tuesday's game 20,457. ROSE GARDEN RANKS NO. 2 --- In its first year, the Blazers Rose Garden finished as the North America's second-highest money-making concert venue behind only Detroit's Palace at Auburn Hills. The rating, done by Performance Magazine based on arenas with 20,000 or more seats, showed the Rose Garden staged 47 shows with a total attendance of 510,275 and gross revenue of $12.5 million. Other arenas in the top 10 included New Jersey's Continental Airlines Arena (No. 3), Target Center in Minneapolis (No. 5), General Motors Place in Vancouver (No. 6), Boston's Fleet Center (No. 9) and Chicago's United Center (No. 10). 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, 55.2%), Mike Schuler (127-84, 60.2%) and Rick Adelman (291-154, 65.4%). P.J. currently is 113-95, 54.3%. Last season, Carlesimo guided Portland to a 44-38 record for the second year in a row. FINISHING IN MINNEAPOLIS --- After Friday's game in Boston, the Blazers head for Minneapolis to meet the Timberwolves on Sunday (12:30 p.m., KEX Radio) in the closing game of their four-stop Eastern road swing. They return home Tuesday, Feb. 4, to host the World Champion Chicago Bulls (7 p.m., KEX Radio, BlazerVision) before taking a six-day All-Star Weekend break. THE PLAYERS KENNY ANDERSON --- Wednesday at Detroit: Team-high 14 pts (4-6 fgs, 1-1 3pt, 5-6 fts), 4 assists, 5 rbs, 26 minutes before being ejected at the 10:17 mark of 4th quarter after receiving his 2nd technical . . . Tuesday at Raptors: 13 pts, 5 assists, 6 rbs, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 33 minutes . . . Saturday vs. Wolves: 19 pts, 3 rbs, 8 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 47 minutes . . . Dished out a season-high 15 assists, scored 22 pts and had only 1 TO in 43 minutes at Phoenix last Friday ---his ninth double-double, his 10th double-figure assist game and 18th time at +20 points . . . Tuesday vs. Clippers: 15 pts, 4 rbs, 12 assists, 3 steals, 36 minutes . . . Scored a season-high 34 pts in a season-high 49 minutes Dec. 13 at the Lakers . . . Scored 32 points vs. Houston Nov. 26 . . . Has led team in scoring 12 times and in assists 27 times . . . Team's leading scorer at 17.6 ppg, the assists leader (7.0 avg.) and tops in steals (1.86 avg.) . . . Ranks 32nd 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. STACEY AUGMON --- Wednesday at Detroit: 0 pts (0-1 fgs), 1 assist, 7 minutes . . . Tuesday at Raptors: 4 pts, 1 rb, 1 assist, 1 steal, 16 minutes . . . Saturday vs. Wolves: 2 pts, 1 rb, 5 minutes . . . Acquired Jan. 24 from Detroit in exchange for guards Randolph Childress, Reggie Jordan and Aaron McKie (joined team Saturday) . . . In 20 games with the Pistons, averaged 4.5 pts, 2.5 rbs and 14.6 minutes . . . Played his first five NBA seasons with Atlanta before being traded to Detroit last summer along with Grant Long for a conditional 1998 1st round draft pick, and second round picks in 1997 and 1998 . . . In five seasons with Atlanta, played 390 games, starting 355, and averaged 13.7 pts, 4.5 rbs, 2.3 assists, 1.46 steals and 30.5 minutes . . . Has registered 100 or more steals in four of his first five seasons . . . A 1992 All-NBA Rookie first team selection . . . Scored the NBA's 6 millionth point March 23, 1992 against Golden State . . . Had a career-high 36 points versus the Blazers on Jan. 3, 1995 . . . The youngest member of the bronze medal-winning U.S. team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul . . . Played on two NCAA Final Four teams at UNLV, including the Runnin Rebels 1990 NCAA championship club. MARCUS BROWN --- Wednesday at Detroit: Career-high 13 pts (4-8 fgs, 3-5 3pt, 2-2 fts), 2 rbs, 1 assist, 1 steal, career-high 16 minutes . . . Tuesday at Raptors: 0 pts, 2 minutes . . . Saturday vs. Wolves: 0 pts, 1 minute . . . In first eight appearances, is shooting 50% from the field (10-20), 54% from beyond the arc (7-13) and 100% free throws (8-8) . . . Played in his first NBA game against San Antonio Dec. 29, scoring 6 pts in 5 minutes---his first pro points came at 2:40 of 4th quarter on a three-pointer (his first attempt) from the left side . . . Activated Dec. 27 after spending the first 29 games of the season on th 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. MITCHELL BUTLER --- Wednesday at Detroit: 5 pts (1-2 fgs, 0-1 3pt, 3-4 fts), 2 rbs, 1 assist, 1 steal, 20 minutes before fouling for first time this season (and 2nd time in his career) with 5:34 remaining in the game. . . Tuesday at Raptors: 11 pts, 1 block, 12 minutes . . . Saturday vs. Wolves: 2 pts, 7 minutes . . . Had season highs of 13 points, 8 rebounds, 33 minutes Jan. 14 vs. Detroit . . . Activated 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, 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. CHRIS DUDLEY --- Wednesday at Detroit: 7 pts (3-6 fgs, 1-1 fts), team-high 10 rbs, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 36 minutes . . . Tuesday at Raptors: Season-high 12 pts, team-high 9 rbs, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 34 minutes . . . Saturday vs. Wolves: 2 pts, game-high 12 rbs, 1 block, 33 minutes in fourth 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 (7.2 rpg) and leader in blocked shots (1.47) despite starting just six games . . . Ranks 21st in the league in blocks . . . Blazers leader in rebounds and blocks last two seasons . . . 10th year in the league, the team's longest tenured player . . . Played in his 600th NBA game last Friday versus Toronto and has played in all but two of the last 205 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. Boston: Averaged 3.0 pts, 10.5 rbs, 1.0 assists, 3.0 blocked shots, 21.5 minutes in two starts. JERMAINE O'NEAL --- Wednesday at Detroit: 10 pts (4-8 fgs, 2-2 fts), 1 block, 16 minutes . . . Tuesday at Raptors: 4 pts, matched career high with 6 rbs, plus 2 blocks, 20 minutes . . . Saturday vs. Wolves: 3 pts, 4 rbs, 1 block, 10 minutes . . . Scored carrer-high 20 pts (8-10 fgs, 4-4 fts), tied career high with 6 rbs, 2 blocked shots, in career-high 25 minutes last Wednesday at Seattle . . . Scored 10 pts in 11 minutes vs. Detroit Jan. 14. . . Had a career-high 3 blocks vs. San Antonio, Dec. 29 . . . 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 . . . Spent season s first 17 games on the injured list . . . Scored the first points as a pro 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 H.S. in Columbia, S.C. ISAIAH RIDER --- Wednesday at Detroit: 12 pts (6-15 fgs, 0-3 3pt), 6 rbs, 2 assists, 41 minutes before fouling out for 1st time this season and 6th time in his career. . . Tuesday at Raptors: Team-high 16 points, 7 rbs, team-high 6 assists, 1 block, 32 minutes . . . Saturday vs. Wolves: Team-high 26 pts, 6 rbs, 2 assists, 1 steal, 38 minutes . . . Made 15 of 18 free throws, both career highs, while scoring 30 points in Jan. 16 win at Lakers (the free throw makes and attempts were the most ever by a Blazer vs. L.A.) . . . Has averaged 21.0 ppg in his last 15 outings . . . Grabbed a game and season-high 11 rebounds vs. Seattle Dec. 18 . . . Dished out a career-high 11 assists Nov. 26 at Houston . . . 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 in 229 games for the Wolves in three seasons . . . 1993-94 NBA All-Rookie First Team . . . Winner of the Gatorade Slam-Dunk title at the 1994 NBA All-Star Weekend. CLIFFORD ROBINSON --- Wednesday at Detroit: 11 pts (5-13 fgs, 1-4 3pt, 0-1 fts), 1 rb, team-high 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 34 minutes . . . Tuesday at Raptors: 11 pts, 4 rbs, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 30 minutes . . . Saturday vs. Wolves: 15 pts, 5 rbs, matched career high with 9 assists, 2 steals, 36 minutes before fouling out with 17.7 seconds remaining, the second straight DQ and the 34th of his career, fourth highest on the all-time Blazers list . . . Grabbed season-high 9 rbs and had 23 pts Tuesday vs. Clippers . . . Poured in his 400th career three-pointer Dec. 12 versus Vancouver . . . Robinson has at least one trey in 39 of 45 games this season and with 432 stands third all-time among Blazers long-range shooters behind only Terry Porter and Clyde Drexler. . . 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 25th in the NBA in minutes played (38.4) . . . Leading scorer the past two seasons . . . Averaged 21.1 points in 1995-96, league's 16th highest . . . Participated in his 600th game as a Blazer Jan. 17 against Toronto . . . Now fifth among Portland's all-time scoring leaders with 9,872 points . . . Ranks in top ten in 16 of 17 career categories . . . . Last season vs. Boston: Averaged team-best 26.5 pts, 8.5 rbs, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks, 39.0 minutes in two starts. ARVYDAS SABONIS --- Placed on the injured list Friday because a hemotoma (deeply bruised) left calf sustained in a fourth quarter collision in Wednesday's game at Seattle . . . Wednesday at Seattle: 12 pts, 5 rbs, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 25 minutes . . . Tallied 22 pts in a career high-equalling 41 minutes Jan. 19 vs. Utah. . . Has led Blazers in scoring on 8 occasions, in rebounding 21 times, and assists 3 times . . . Leads team in double-doubles with 11 . . . Scored career-high 33 points and had career high-equalling 11 field goals (on 14 attempts) and 8 free throws on a career-high 14 fts, plus a team-high 12 In the Jan. 4 win at Dallas . . . Equalled his career high with 26 points and had a game-high 13 rebounds Dec. 26 at Utah . . . Played a career-high 41 minutes in the Dec. 13 overtime loss at the Lakers . . Grabbed career-high 17 rebounds at Minnesota Nov. 7 . . . Team's leading rebounder (8.1 rpg) and second in blocked shots (1.34) . . . 26th in NBA field goal accuracy at .491 (195-397) and 23rd in blocks . . On the NBA's All-Rookie first team last season, the first Blazer to make it 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 . . . Gained his third Olympic Games medal during the summer in helping Lithuania to the Bronze at Atlanta . . . . Last season vs. Boston: Averaged 16.5 pts (third-best for team), 9.0 rbs, 2.0 assists, shot 58% from the field (11-19) and 83% from line (10-12) in two games. GARY TRENT --- Wednesday at Detroit: 13 pts (4-7 fgs, 5-8 fts), 6 rbs, 1 assist, 2 steals, 30 minutes . . . Tuesday at Raptors: 13 pts, 4 rbs, 2 blocks, 26 minutes . . . Saturday vs. Wolves: 18 pts, 7 rbs, 1 steal, 38 minutes. . . Friday at Suns: Second straight career-high scoring effort with game-high 24 points (10-14 fgs), and tied career high with 13 rbs in 36 minutes --- 10 field goals also a career high . . . In his last six games has blistered the nets at a 70% clip (41-59), raising his season field goal percentage to .547, the league's fifth best mark . . . Scored career-high 24 pts (9-11 fgs, 6-6 fts) in 32 minutes at Seattle Wednesday . . . Portland 11-5 since he moved into the starting lineup in place of the injured Rasheed Wallace . . . Played a career-high 44 minutes and scored 19 points Jan. 2 at Houston . . . 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) 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 . . . . Last season vs. Boston: Averaged 14.5 pts, 2.5 rbs, 1.0 blocks, 19.0 minutes in two games. RASHEED WALLACE --- Placed on injured list Dec. 27 after surgery on his thumb; is expected to be sidelined a minimum of four weeks . . . Dec. 23 vs. Washington: 5 pts (2-2 fgs), 1 rb, 16 minutes before leaving game with a fractured left thumb in the second quarter . . Tallied a career and team season-high 38 pts on career-high 17 of 25 fgs in 40 minutes at Sacramento Dec. 21---previous highs of 32 pts, 15-20 fgs, came Nov. 5 at Golden State . . . 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 . . . Still No. 1 among NBA's field goal percentage shooters (.588 on 170-289) . . . 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 sophomore All-American at North Carolina before becoming an early entry draft candidate. ENNIS WHATLEY --- Wednesday at Detroit: 4 pts (2-2 fgs), 1 assist, 7 minutes . . . Tuesday at Raptors: 0 pts, 2 rbs, 2 assists, 13 minutes in his first appearance this season . . . Did not play (coach's decision) in previous two games . . . Signed to a 10-day contract on Friday, Jan. 24 . . . Has been playing for Connecticut in the CBA where he was averaging 15.2 points (team's 4th highest), and 9.5 assists (the CBA's 2nd highest) in 26 games, while shooting .540 from the field . . . Is making his second appearance as a Trail Blazer . . . Was a member of the 1991-92 Western Conference Champions that took Chicago to six games in the NBA Finals . . . Has played for six teams---Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland and Atlanta---in the NBA over nine seasons after being the Bulls second pick (13th) overall in the 1983 NBA Draft . . . Averaged 5.6 pts, 4.5 assists and 18.5 minutes in 382 previous NBA games . . . As a rookie point guard with the Bulls in 1983-84, distributed 662 assists, an 8.3 per game average, 8th best in the league. DONTONIO WINGFIELD --- Wednesday at Detroit: 0 pts (0-1 3pt), 7 minutes . . . Tuesday at Raptors: 0 pts, 4 rbs, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 22 minutes . . . Saturday vs. Wolves: 14 pts, 5 rbs, 1 steal, 25 minutes . . . Scored season-high 16 points at Phoenix Jan. 24 . . . Tied career-high with 9 rbs and played a season-high 27 minutes vs. the Lakers Jan. 6 . . . Placed on injured list Dec. 13 (sprained left thumb suffered in Dec. 12 game with Vancouver) . . . 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 . . . vs. Phoenix last season: Scored 2 pts and had 2 rbs in 7 minutes of Game 2. Did not play (coach's decision) in the other three games . . . Last season vs. Boston: Scored 6 pts, had 1 rb and 1 block in 6 minutes of Game 1. Did not play (coach's decision) in second game. John Christensen Chuck Charnquist ************************************************************ Send subscribe/unsubscribe messages to majordomo@ripcity.com ************************************************************