Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports: Avery Johnson has played in his 1,000th NBA game against Portland. Johnson became the 75th player in NBA history to log 1,000 NBA games. More impressive, he became just the second player under six feet to play in one thousand games (Calin Murphy).

"I just thought I'd try to hang around for a couple of years when I first started," Johnson said. "To make it this long is a testament to all the hard work and to all the coaches and teammates and everybody else who helped me along the way."

Since that Sunday afternoon they were embarrassed in Cleveland ? it seems like eons ago, but really was less than two weeks ? the Jazz have been in a zone.

In the eeriest of manners, everything seems to be going their way.
     
Greg Ostertag ? Greg Ostertag ? throws an alley-oop pass to Andrei Kirilenko, and it goes straight into the basket without ever touching Kirilenko's hands.
     
Alley-oops?
     
Wednesday night at the Delta Center, Utah won for the fifth straight time ? leading from wire-to-wire in a 94-85 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers appear as if they are going to have plenty of momentum heading into the playoffs.

The wrong kind of momentum.

Momentum, as in speeding downhill, out of control. With or without brakes.

Portland's 94-85 loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night at the Delta Center was the Blazers' third in a row and their fifth in seven games. Of late, they have looked bewildered and out of sync, and it was no different against the Jazz.

Yeah, he's done. Washed up. Too old.
   
Or so the Portland Trail Blazers wish.
   
John Stockton celebrated his birthday Wednesday by whipping up on kids little more than half his age. He's 41 now, right? So why, Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks wondered after Utah's fifth straight win, a 94-85 wire-to-wire job, doesn't he play like it?

With the Utah Jazz, success often boils down to offensive execution.

The Jazz is one of the league's more methodical teams when it comes to offense. When the offense clicks, the Jazz is as tough to beat as any team in the league. When it doesn't . . . well, the Jazz lost 122-95 at Cleveland less than two weeks ago, and the Cavaliers' Ricky Davis, needing one rebound to complete a triple double, tried to rub Utah's nose in it near the end by shooting at the wrong basket.

Utah coach Jerry Sloan knocked Davis for his "schoolyard" stunt, but that and losing by 27 to one of the worst teams in the league might have been the wake-up call the Jazz needed.

Jim Beseda of the Oregonian reports that Blazers guard Damon Stoudamire will have Marijuana possesion charges dropped against him if he can stay out of trouble for a year.

Stoudamire's probation includes completing a drug/alcohal rehabilitation school, pay $150 dollars in probation costs, and $500 dollars to the Lewis County Drug Fund.

Stoudamire and teammate Rasheed Wallace were cited for posession of less than 2 grams of Marijuana on November 22. They were passengers in the car that was stopped for speeding.

"I'm just happy to put it behind me, and I'm just looking forward to concentrating on basketball right now," Stoudamire said. "I've been paying for it for a long time, and I'll probably continue to pay for it for a little bit."

Blazers forward Scottie Pippen underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on his left knee and is expected to miss the next three weeks reports Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press.

Pippen has missed the last four games with swelling in his knee, although it is unclear as to how Pippen injured it.

If Pippen returns in the scheduled 3 weeks, he will be back in time for the final five games of the regular season.

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports: Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich was diagnosed Tuesday with superficial bladder cancer.

Tomjanovich's doctors, including team physician Jim Muntz and urologist Richard Goldfarb, said the prognosis was good for a full recovery. Goldfarb and Muntz have discovered that the abnormal cells have not penetrated into the muscle in Tomjanovich's bladder, a very encouraging sign.

Even more encouraging is the fact that his treatment will not require surgery, but rather the use of a topical agent to treat the cancer.

"These are superficial growths," said Muntz. "Treating it with this generally works very well."

Tomjanovich is expected to take two weeks off and then begin treatments. The treatments, called "BCG" treatments, will be done once a week for six weeks. After the treatments, doctors will conduct further testing on Tomjanovich in the summer.

Players were notified of Tomjanovich's condition before Tuesday night's game against Seattle.

"There were a lot of long faces," Rockets assistant coach Larry Smith said.

"I did not want to hear that word," said Steve Francis, who lost his mother to cancer. "But finding this and taking care of it now will help him. They can treat him."

Tuesday night's game against Seattle marked the first time in 12 seasons that Tomjanovich has missed a game. He will likely miss tonight's game against Portland, but he hopes to rejoin the team for their road trip in time for their third game against the Golden State Warriors, which takes place on Friday.

Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovic underwent a 30-minute procedure to test some abnormalities found on his bladder reports Jonathan Feigen, of the Houston Chronicle.

Tomjanovic underwent tests last month when he had a bladder infection. It wasn't until Friday that he learned of the abnormalities the test results showed.

After the Rockets win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, Tomjanovic gathered his team and told them of his condition.

Tomjanovic will miss tonight's game against the Seattle Sonics, but is expected to return to the team as early as Wednesday, when the the team will begin it's five-game road trip in Portland.

Arvydas Sabonis scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Indiana Pacers 95-88 Monday night.

Ruben Patterson added 15 points, and Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire each had 14 for the Trail Blazers, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Jermaine O'Neal led the Pacers with 31 points and 12 rebounds, Al Harrington had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Ron Artest scored 16 in his first game back from a one-game suspension. The Pacers have lost 13 of their last 15.

The 38-year-old Sabonis played only 12 minutes the first three quarters, leaving him with enough energy to finish off the Pacers after they rallied late.

The Trail Blazers' 17-point first-half lead was wiped out midway through the fourth after Artest's 3-pointer gave Indiana a 70-69 lead.

Portland regained the lead on the next possession on Sabonis' basket, but the Pacers tied it at 72. Wallace put the Trail Blazers ahead for good, 75-72, with a 3-pointer, and Sabonis added a three-point play -- thanks to a nifty hook over O'Neal -- on the next possession

Two more short-range baskets and a free throw by Sabonis stretched the lead to 85-76 and sealed the win.

The Trail Blazers swept the season series and have won 17 of their last 23 on the road.

They built a big lead in the second as Stoudamire, starting in place of the injured Scottie Pippen, hit one jumper after another. Stoudamire scored 10 points in the quarter as the Blazers took a 51-34 lead.

The Pacers looked awful in the first half, and the ball movement they showed during their torrid start has disappeared.

Instead of working the ball around, the Pacers tried to go one-on-one off the dribble and then kick it outside if they ran into trouble. O'Neal and Harrington combined for 34 of Indiana's 82 shots.

The Trail Blazers were able to dominate in transition, outscoring Indiana 20-3 on the fastbreak and 34-18 in the paint in the first half.

Indiana used an 11-4 run at the start of the third and a 9-2 spurt to start the fourth to get back in the game.

The Pacers again played without center Brad Miler, who missed his third straight game with a sore left foot. Point guard Jamaal Tinsley didn't start, but did play 16 minutes after arriving just before tip-off. He's been staying with his ailing mother.

Notes: The Pacers brought in five-time All-Star point guard Tim Hardaway for a workout last weekend. Indiana coach Isiah Thomas said Hardaway had a good workout, but there was no timetable on a decision. "When a guy like that calls and says he's interested in playing for you, you owe it to yourself to take a look," Thomas said. ... The Trail Blazers have two Indiana natives on their roster. Bonzie Wells of Muncie and Zach Randolph of Marion. ... O'Neal fouled out. ... Pippen is still bothered by swelling in his left knee. ... The Pacers have failed to score 90 points in four of their last five games.