WASHINGTON - Their constant scrapes with the law and general loutish behavior notwithstanding, the Portland Trail Blazers have been one of the NBA's biggest enigmas in recent seasons, with talent seemingly to burn, but nothing to show for it.

There was nothing mysterious in the 98-79 whipping the Trail Blazers administered to the Washington Wizards last night, as Portland was dominant in nearly every facet of the game.

The Wizards (9-12), who looked like they wanted to get to their respective homes before the forecasted ice storm, did pick the oddest time to turn in a performance so flat the announced sellout crowd of 20,173 booed lustily at the end of the third period, with Portland leading by 24.

Coach Doug Collins appeared so angry at the desultory effort that he didn't even talk to the Wizards during a timeout early in the fourth quarter.

"I can understand an off-night, but this is the first time this season that we haven't competed." Collins said. "It was bad. It was ugly. The first two possessions, I looked at our coaches and said, "This is going to be a bad night.'"

But the Trail Blazers (10-9), who have beaten Washington eight straight times, might well have given the Los Angeles Lakers of the last three title runs a stiff challenge, with all five starters in double figures through three periods and shooting 50 percent for the game, and 56 percent through the first three quarters, when the starters for both teams were still on the floor.

"It was just one of those games." said Wizards forward Christian Laettner, one of five Washington players in double figures with 10 points. "We won't see anything like this the rest of the way. It started bad and ended bad."

Scottie Pippen, who was often called Robin to Michael Jordan's Batman in their 10 seasons in Chicago - six of which ended with championships - faced his old teammate for the first time in their respective careers.

For this night, Pippen looked more like the Caped Crusader than Jordan, hitting six of seven from the field for 14 points, to go along with five assists and seven rebounds in only 27 minutes. Pippen, like Jordan, took in the fourth quarter from the comfort of the bench, with the outcome long decided.

For their part, Jordan and Jerry Stackhouse scored 14 points each, combining to shoot 13-for-27, but like the rest of their teammates, neither could find a consistent flow. Larry Hughes had his fourth straight double double with a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Washington's sole ray of hope was a solid effort from second-year forward Kwame Brown, who had 11 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.

Brown, the first player chosen in last year's draft, had been bounced from the Wizards' rotation, not even playing in Saturday's 100-97 win over New York, saying later that he was confused about his benching.

However, the 6-foot-11 player was energetic and active, two things Collins had complained about during Brown's recent sporadic play.

Portland's Derek Anderson scored 14 points and handed out five assists, while Rasheed Wallace had 13 points for Portland.

The Trail Blazers ran and ran and kept running in the first half, and when they weren't running, they were able to get loose in the interior, rolling up an impressive 34-10 advantage on points scored in the paint for the half, which ballooned to 50-28 for the game.