Utah's Greg Ostertag tries to block a shot by Portland's Derek Anderson during the first half Tuesday night. AP

Blazers send Jazz to worst start in 19 years

PORTLAND (AP) - Rasheed Wallace hadn't been getting the job done, and his Portland Trail Blazers teammates let him know it.

Wallace scored 26 points and Bonzi Wells added 21 as the Blazers sent the Utah Jazz to their worst start in 19 years with a 101-83 victory Tuesday night.

Wallace, a two-time All-Star, played well in a season-opening loss to the Lakers, but made just 30 percent of his shots in the next three games. After a 6-for-15 performance in Sunday night's 96-86 loss at Golden State, the Blazers held a closed-door meeting and challenged Wallace to bring more energy.

"He realizes that he has to play much better than what he did the first two games for this team to be successful," teammate Scottie Pippen said. "So we put a little bit of pressure on him, and he responded."

Wallace made his first five shots and scored 15 points in the first quarter as Portland built an early lead and didn't let up.

"You could see he had the fire in his eyes that was kind of lacking the last few games," Steve Kerr said.

Donyell Marshall scored 15 points for the Jazz, who are 1-4 for the first time since the 1982-83 season.

"I don't know when I've had a team play this poorly this early in the season," said 14th-year coach Jerry Sloan, "where the energy level didn't look like it was there."

Karl Malone and Bryon Russell each had 14 points. John Stockton took just five shots and scored 4 points.

Asked what's wrong with his team, Malone said, "If we knew it, we would correct it. You can't put your finger on one particular thing."

Derek Anderson, who missed the previous three games with a sprained right ankle, added 15 points and 10 assists for the Blazers. Point guard Damon Stoudamire sat out with tendinitis in his right knee, and Pippen took on most of the point guard duties. He had 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.

"It was time for us to jump on someone and try and put them in a hole, instead of us always fighting from behind," Portland coach Maurice Cheeks said.

Portland led by 12 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Russell hit a 3-pointer and a long jumper to cut it to 69-62. After fighting through a straight zone defense put on by the Jazz, the Blazers then pulled away, with Wallace making two baskets from close range and Pippen and Anderson each hitting 3-pointers to push the lead to 82-68.

Following a jumper by Malone, Pippen dished to rookie Ruben Boumtje Boumtje for a slam and a foul. Pippen's jumper, followed by two free throws from Wells, made it 89-71 with 3:51 to go.

"This is the type of intensity we need to bring every night to win ballgames," Pippen said.

Led by Wallace and Wells, the Blazers made their first seven shots and took a 17-6 lead. Wallace scored 11 points in the first 3 1/2 minutes, making a dunk and hitting four jumpers, including a 3-pointer.

Portland shot 71 percent in the period and 56 percent for the game.

The Blazers had been outrebounded by an average of 13.7 per game in their three losses, and they were trounced on the boards by the Warriors. But Portland had a 34-23 edge over the Jazz.

"The Golden State game really set us back," Anderson said. "We know we've got to outwork people."

Utah fell behind by 16 late in the second quarter but used a 10-0 run to get back into it. Another jumper by Wallace made it 49-41 at halftime. The Jazz cut the lead from 14 to eight late in the third, but two jumpers by Wells made it 69-47.