(My Sportsbook) - Throw the Portland Trail Blazers into the mix with Dallas, Sacramento and the LA Lakers as teams that have a realistic shot at the NBA title.

The Blazers have won 10 of their last 11 games, with the only blemish during the stretch being a 15-point defeat in Chicago on New Year's Eve. Amazingly, seven of the wins have come on the road. Portland is now 20-12 on the season and just four games behind Pacific-leading Sacramento.

The Blazers are fresh off a 4-1 road trip, which concluded with a 92-89 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday.

Bonzi Wells scored 22 points and Rasheed Wallace contributed 18 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Blazers. Scottie Pippen collected 12 points, seven boards and five assists for Portland.

Portland trailed by four points early in the third quarter, before going on an 18-2 burst, culminated by Wells' dunk, to grab a 67-55 lead with 5:02 left in the period.

"Sometimes coming into the third quarter, we have a letdown a little bit and let teams jump on us," Wells said. "But we've been making a conscious effort to really come out in the third quarter and at least have a stalemate or make a run ourselves."

However, the Knicks slowly chipped away and pulled within 78-76 on Allan Houston's short jumper in the lane with 8:03 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Blazers held a three-point lead late. With seven seconds remaining, New York inbounded the ball to Houston, who inexplicably stepped inside the three- point arc and attempted an 18-foot jumper despite Latrell Sprewell being open on the left wing. Houston's shot clanged off the front rim and Portland rebounded the ball before running out the clock.

"It was a very good road trip for us," Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Winning four of five games is big for us. We just kind of stayed together. We started off with a big win in Sacramento, then go to play Detroit, and that was a big win for us. So we just gained confidence, and we want to build on it from there. It was a tough trip with the holidays and all, but we just kind of stayed together."

Portland starting point guard Derek Anderson missed his second straight game on Sunday because of a left ankle sprain. Antonio Daniels has started in place of Anderson and scored 15 points in Sunday's victory while playing strong defense.

Even with Anderson being sidelined, Damon Stoudamire has played zero minutes over the last two games. He has seen action in just two contests over the past 10.

The Blazers have a chance to improve upon their recent success, as they play five of their next six games at home. Portland kicks off the stretch with a matchup against another hot Pacific Division team, the Phoenix Suns, on Tuesday.