PORTLAND, Ore., March 9 -- Bonzi Wells had 21 points and eight rebounds and Rasheed Wallace added 18 and eight Friday night as the Portland Trail Blazers matched the second-longest winning streak in franchise history with their 12th straight victory, an 82-73 triumph over the New Jersey Nets.
Portland spent the first half of the season as one of the most inconsistent teams in the league but have been one of the best since the All-Star break.
The Blazers have not lost since Feb. 15, winning 12 consecutive games for the third time in franchise history. The streak is four shy of the team record.
New Jersey is heading in the opposite direction. After playing like the best team in the Eastern Conference for the first four months of the season, the Nets have dropped five of their last six games and fell to 0-3 on a four-game road trip, matching their longest slide of the season.
New Jersey never led in the second half but tied it, 53-53, on Kenyon Martin's dunk with 5:27 left in the third quarter. But the Blazers responded with seven straight points to take the lead for good as the Nets went scoreless for more than four minutes.
New Jersey got within five points twice in the fourth quarter, but Portland responded both times. Scottie Pippen's three-pointer gave the Blazers a 76-68 lead with 6:11 remaining and sparked an 8-2 game-clinching run.
Pippen had 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Portland, which has won five straight home games.
Martin finished with 19 points and Kerry Kittles added 16 for the Nets, who have lost four straight road games. Content: 15008000 15008001
