Drexler Continues To Excel

Clyde Drexler’s verbal blast at the Portland Trail Blazers’ front office certainly hasn’t hurt his or his teammates’ performance on the court.

The Blazers have won three in a row since Drexler went public with his desire to be traded last Wednesday. If they can beat the struggling Golden State Warriors tonight, Portland will have its first four-game winning streak of the season.

The game will be the 2,000th in the history of the Trail Blazer franchise.

Drexler scored 31 points, including six of seven 3-pointers, in 26 minutes in Monday night’s 129-83 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers, the eighth time he’s topped 30 points this year.

His effort followed a 35-point game at Boston, where he scored the winning basket with six-tenths of a second to play, and an 18-point game at Washington.

“I think Clyde plays well every night,” said Portland coach P.J. Carlesimo, who is becoming weary of questions about the impact the Drexler controversy is having on the team. “Everybody keeps talking about that, but Clyde played well and he played hard.”

Drexler has not backed off from his statement that he believes he’s been mistreated by the Blazers’ organization. But with the way he’s playing, he could be too valuable to trade by the Feb. 23 deadline, especially if the Blazers are unable to get someone comparable in the deal.

Patience pays off for Motta

There have been a lot of nights this season, Dallas Mavericks Coach Dick Motta admits, when his pulse quickens and the back of his neck grows red-hot. But the 63-year-old coach has averted reenactments of vintage Motta tirades from yesteryear by biting his lower lip.

So far, at least.

“I’ve always been able to adapt to the personality of my team,” Motta said. “Some teams needed to be prodded. The last thing the young Dallas Mavericks need is someone with a heavy hand. And if I can’t adapt to that, I don’t deserve to be here.”