Pistons 83, Trail Blazers 68

<br>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ Rasheed Wallace drew a mixed reaction at the Rose Garden upon his return to Portland. The Trail Blazers got the loudest boos, though. <br><br>Wallace, traded by Portland early

Friday, March 5th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ Rasheed Wallace drew a mixed reaction at the Rose Garden upon his return to Portland. The Trail Blazers got the loudest boos, though.

Wallace, traded by Portland early last month, helped the Detroit Pistons to an 83-68 rout Thursday night.

``This was just for him,'' Detroit guard Chauncey Billups said. ``Nothing personal against Portland, but we wanted to get it for him.''

The Pistons got it, leading by as many as 25 points. It was so bad that the Blazers were booed loudly when they went into the half trailing 46-29.

Portland has lost four straight after a five-game winning streak.

Wallace's return _ which was greeted by a nearly even mix of cheers and boos from Rose garden fans _ came on the heels of former Blazer Bonzi Wells' first Portland appearance with his new team, the Grizzlies. Wells, who was roundly jeered, had 28 points as Memphis beat the Blazers 97-88 on Wednesday night.

``Well, I'm 0-for-2 against Bonzi and Rasheed,'' Portland coach Maurice Cheeks said. ``They truly beat us in every aspect of the game. They dominated from start to finish.''

In other games Thursday night, it was: Miami 104, Milwaukee 98 and Sacramento 114, Philadelphia 105.

Wallace had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Pistons, who have won five of their last six. Billups had 16 points.

Detroit was without leading scorer Richard Hamilton, who was recovering from surgery on his broken nose. Lindsey Hunter started in his place.

Wallace was traded to Atlanta on Feb. 9, part of a five-player deal that moved Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff and Dan Dickau to Portland.

He played just one game with the Hawks before he was dealt with Mike James to the Pistons in a three-way trade that also involved the Celtics.

Wallace, in his eighth season, was perceived to be one of the Blazers' top problems as the team tried to rebuild an image tarnished by player arrests and infighting. Wells was traded to the Grizzlies in early December.

While at times he showed flashes of superstar talent, Wallace was inconsistent and temperamental on the court. In the 2000-01 season, he was called for a league-record 41 technical fouls.

Last season, he and teammate Damon Stoudamire were cited in Washington state on marijuana charges while returning from a game in Seattle.

Wallace was also suspended by the NBA for seven games last season for threatening an official on the Rose Garden loading dock after a game. It was the league's longest suspension for something that didn't involve physical contact or substance abuse.

But despite a chilly relationship with the media, Wallace was popular with his teammates and many fans. There were a number of Wallace jerseys spotted in the crowd, and one fan lofted a sign reading ``Wallace for MVP.''

Wallace arrived at the Rose Garden a little more than an hour before the game, wearing Wells' No. 6 Portland jersey. He declined to talk to reporters both before and after the game.

Zach Randolph had 11 points for the Blazers, who are watching their playoff hopes slip away.

``Yeah, we've put our backs up against the wall,'' Abdur-Rahim said. ``We have no room for error. Everybody feels frustrated right now. We're not playing as good as we can.''

Ben Wallace had 12 points and 19 rebounds for Detroit.

Kings 114, 76ers 105

At Philadelphia, Peja Stojakovic scored 22 of his 27 points in the first half, and Chris Webber had 24 points and 10 assists to lead Sacramento.

Allen Iverson rebounded from Wednesday's 2-for-21 shooting performance to score a team-high 32 for the Sixers, who have lost six of seven. Kenny Thomas recorded his sixth straight double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Heat 104, Bucks 98

At Miami, Rafer Alston tied a career high with 23 points and Caron Butler added 21 to help the Heat hold on after blowing a 16-point lead to snap their four-game losing streak.

Keith Van Horn scored 22 points, and Michael Redd added 21 for Milwaukee.