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PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- The loss of Damon Stoudamire did not affect the Portland TrailBlazers as much as the return of Derek Anderson did. Anderson had 15 points and 10 assists in his first game back from a sprained ankle and Rahseed Wallace scored 26 points as Portland posted a 101-83 victory over the Utah Jazz, who are off to their worst start in nearly two decades. Acquired in an offseason trade with San Antonio, Anderson sprained his right ankle in the third quarter of the Blazers' season-opener and had not played since. His return was nearly offset by the loss of Stoudamire, who did not play due to tendinitis in his right knee. "Getting Derek back was a welcome sight," Portland coach Maurice Cheeks said. "With Damon having tendinitis, he certainly came back on the right time." Anderson picked up the slack for Portland's missing point guard, recording his first double-double with his new team. He made 5-of-11 shots from the floor, including 2-of-4 3-pointers, and drained 3-of-4 free throws. "It felt good, I couldn't stop sometimes, but I'm trying to get my rhythm back," he said. "It's exciting playing with these guys." Wallace made 11-of-16 shots and collected six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Bonzi Wells had 21 points and six rebounds and Scottie Pippen, who started at point guard for Stoudamire, added 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. "(Pippen) is a different kind of point guard," Cheeks said. "He's looking to run our offense more than Damon has. The lineup we had out there proved to be big and proved to be effective." "The guys know I'm going to push the ball and give it up," Pippen said. "It got our transition game going. Guys know if they go out and run they're going to get rewarded." Portland jumped out to a 17-6 lead and had control until Utah went on a 10-0 run late in the second quarter to pull within six points. "We concentrated on getting a better start," Cheeks said. "The way we've been beginning games and getting in a hole, I told the team that it was time to jump on someone. And we did." The Blazers built the lead back to 14, but the Jazz rallied within eight before Wallace nailed consecutive jumpers to put Portland ahead by double digits for good. It led by as many as 22 in the final 12 minutes. Utah has won just one of its first four games, its worst start since 1982-83, when Karl Malone and John Stockton were in college. Donyell Marshall scored 15 points to lead the Jazz and Malone added 14 on 5-of-12 shooting. Bryon Russell made 6-of-10 shots for 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Stockton had just four points and six assists in 31 minutes. "People expect (Stockton and Malone) to be at the top of their game every night, like they are 20 years old," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "But that's not the reality of what happens. Guys get older and people don't understand that. There's not much we can do about their age. Where was the energy level of our young guys? Those are the guys that are supposed to provide energy. If they can't, we will not be able to compete." The Blazers shot 56 percent (39-of-70) from the floor, going 6-of-17 from the arc, and made 17-of-21 free throws. They also held a commanding 34-23 rebounding edge and collected 11 steals.
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