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Blazers-Bucks: 56k | 300k |
"I just scrapped to get the ball and got a shot up," said Stoudamire, who had 14 points on just 6-of-19 shooting. "I didn't hit many shots tonight, but I did hit a big one. I'm just happy we got the win no matter how we got it."
Portland's fourth straight victory did not come easily. A jumper by Keith Van Horn gave Milwaukee a 99-98 lead with 25 seconds to play.
The Trail Blazers worked the clock before going to Zach Randolph in the low post. Randolph lost the ball but Stoudamire picked it up and was bumped off balance before making the shot.
"As far as the Stoudamire play, there was a lot of contact there," Milwaukee coach Tery Porter said. "Obviously, I thought it was a travel, maybe it could have been a foul. It's a tough scenario."
"I got beat up, I thought I was fouled," Randolph said. "Damon hit a big shot there. I had four guys on me."
The Bucks had a final chance, but Joe Smith's 3-pointer bounced off the back of the rim at the buzzer.
"We did a great job of fighting back and giving ourselves a chance to win. They just came up with a big shot," Smith said.
Darius Miles and Derek Anderson scored 20 points each and Randolph added 16 and 11 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who led, 70-50, early in the third quarter.
Milwaukee chipped away and took the lead at 97-96 on a jumper by recently acquired Brevin Knight with 58 seconds to go. After Randolph answered, Van Horn gave the Bucks their last lead.
"It was a heck of a game. We got off to a good start and kept the them on their heels for the rest of the way," Portland coach Maurice Cheeks said. "It was a huge win for us. You can't afford to lose when our margin for error is so small."
The Trail Blazers had six players in double figures and moved within 1 1/2 games of eighth-place Denver in the Western Conference.
Michael Redd scored 26 points and Desmond Mason added 10 of his 18 in the fourth quarter for Milwaukee (34-33), which remained one game behind fourth-place New Orleans in the Eastern Conference.
