LOS ANGELES, 22 March 2004 — General Theo Ratliff is trying to march the Portland Trail Blazers into the playoffs.
Ratliff again made his presence felt with six blocked shots Saturday night as the host Trail Blazers rolled to a 92-73 victory over the shorthanded Orlando Magic.
The Trail Blazers are 11-9 since acquiring Ratliff and Shareef Abdur-Rahim from Atlanta in a five-player deal last month. Once-porous Portland has solidified its defense with Ratliff, who leads the NBA in blocked shots per game.
“On defense he’s our general. The rest of us are like soldiers,” said forward Darius Miles, who had three blocks. “I just try to play hard and match his intensity.”
Ratliff has 45 blocks in his last eight games, helping the Blazers (35-34) climb within one-half game of Utah and Denver for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“Sometimes I think maybe players think they got free, open lanes,” Ratliff said. “I’m just trying to shut them down. That’s my job — play aggressive, try to detour any shots they have.”
“When that guy’s around the rim, it’s a tough shot,” said Magic forward Juwan Howard, who scored 21 points.
Derek Anderson led the Blazers with 24 points. Ratliff added 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, helping Portland score 50 points in the paint. Playing without NBA scoring leader Tracy McGrady, who missed the game due to the death of his great grandmother, the Magic shot just 32 percent (28-of-89).
Utah 87, Atlanta 81: The visiting Jazz (36-34) stayed ahead of the Blazers with a fourth-quarter rally led by Spanish rookie Raul Lopez, who scored six of his 10 points in a decisive run.
Spurs 103 Boston 87: Tim Duncan had 26 points and 15 rebounds and Argentine Manu Ginobili scored 26 points off the bench as the Spurs beat the Celtics for the 11th consecutive time and 12th straight at home. Boston (31- 40) fell 1 1 2 games out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Miami 101 Philadelphia 69: The host Heat (32-37) rolled to their season-high fourth straight win and moved into sixth place in the East as Lamar Odom and rookie Dwyane Wade scored 17 points each. Philadelphia, which had won the last seven meetings, suffered its worst loss of the season and its fourth in a row.
Chicago 87 New York 81: Chicago’s Jamal Crawford celebrated his 24th birthday with 25 points, including a tough jumper with 3.6 seconds to play that snapped New York’s three-game winning streak. The Knicks (32-38) dropped into a tie with Cleveland for seventh in the East.
Memphis 99 Indiana 95: James Posey scored seven of his 16 points in the final 2 1 2 minutes to lift host Memphis to its ninth win in 11 games. Jermaine O’Neal had 28 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana (50-19), which fell into a tie with Sacramento for the best record in the NBA.
Phoenix 123 Milwaukee 111: The Suns scored a season-high 68 points in the first half, then inducted Charles Barkley into the Ring of Honor at America West Arena before snapping a five-game home skid. Milwaukee has lost four in a row.
