Wallace will be suspended for Tuesday's regular-season finale against San Antonio for "conduct detrimental to the success of the team," coach Mike Dunleavy said Monday.

It was the second time this season Wallace has been suspended by Dunleavy.

Wallace will rejoin the Blazers on Wednesday as they prepare for their first-round playoff opponent, likely to be the Lakers. Asked whether Wallace can be a productive member of the team in the playoffs, Dunleavy said, "The answer to that really depends on Rasheed."

"As far as all parties are concerned, hopefully we come to practice on Wednesday and you basically bury the hatchet," he added.

It's the second time this month Wallace has been suspended by his team for surly on-court behavior. He also was suspended two games by the NBA in early February for throwing a towel that grazed the cheek of referee Gary Benson, who had ejected him.

While Wallace's tantrums over officiating have become notorious, he never had publicly feuded with a teammate before Sunday.

During the third quarter of Sunday's 105-100 loss to the Lakers, Sabonis was shoved out of the way by Shaquille O'Neal, who was going for a rebound. Sabonis, trying to draw a foul, flailed his arms, and his left hand smacked Wallace in the face.

Wallace, who had his left eye blackened by Sabonis' elbow during another inadvertent hit at Golden State on April 6, doubled over. He yelled at Sabonis as the teams went to their benches for a timeout. Still furious, Wallace threw a small, white towel into Sabonis' face, then walked away. The 7-foot-3 Lithuanian center sat red-faced, as teammates Will Perdue and Scottie Pippen stared after Wallace in disbelief.

Dunleavy said there was some miscommunication on the part of both players, but that it didn't excuse Wallace's action.

"The reaction wasn't, I don't think, fair, as far as being warranted. But there is another side to the story," Dunleavy said.

Neither Wallace nor Sabonis would comment following the game. The team said the players would not be made available for interviews on Monday.

Wallace has been ejected seven times this season and has racked up 41 technical fouls, breaking the league record of 38 he set last season. But he seemed to calm down after getting thrown out of a home loss to Minnesota on April 1.

Dunleavy, making good on a warning to Wallace the last time he had been ejected, suspended Wallace for a game at Denver on April 3. He got just one technical foul in his next five games.

Personnel File

ANOTHER TRIP-UP: Once again the Blazers collapsed against the Lakers. It happened in the seventh and deciding game of the Western Conference finals last spring, and it happened again Sunday in the next-to-last game of this season.

Shaquille O'Neal had 33 points and 18 rebounds and Robert Horry made a crucial 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining as the Lakers scored the final six points to beat the Blazers 105-100.

The teams ended splitting the season series, 2-2, and could meet up in the first round of the playoffs.

"We took care of the ball. We were able to make some stops and we did some things that were important down at the end," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

"It was a typical game that these two teams have played over the last however many years," Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy said.

Damon Stoudamire, who scored all 14 of his points in the second half, made a 3-pointer with 2:51 remaining to tie the game at 99-99, and Rasheed Wallace's foul shot with 1:59 left gave the Blazers a one-point lead.

O'Neal then made a short jumper, and rebounded a miss by Stoudamire before the big 3-pointer by Horry, who connected from the right corner to give the Lakers a 104-100 lead.

Stoudamire missed another shot and Horry rebounded before Bryant made a free throw with 19 seconds to play, completing the scoring.

"The game could have gone either way in the last two minutes," O'Neal said. "We got a couple stops, and Robert hit a big shot. We played really good defense."

The Blazers looked particularly shaky in the final minute, allowing the Lakers to run several seconds off the clock before deciding to foul. After getting the ball back with 19 seconds left, Portland couldn't even get a shot off.

"We played all right. We have to play better, especially down the stretch," said Portland's Scottie Pippen, who was held to nine points.

Kobe Bryant added 25 points and seven assists, and Derek Fisher scored 21 points for the Lakers (55-26), who extended their winning streak to a season-high seven games.

But Horry, who scored only five points, made the game's biggest shot.

"We know Robert likes big shots in games, and we are encouraging him to take the shots that are there for him because he does a good job when it's critical," Jackson said.

"Rasheed (Wallace) had been backing off all game," Horry said. "I had missed two, the law of averages were with me. Usually when I don't hesitate, I have better results."

Angry words were exchanged when Arvydas Sabonis committed a flagrant foul on Bryant with 7:22 remaining in the third quarter, but order was quickly restored. Sabonis didn't play after that.

During a timeout, Wallace threw a towel in Sabonis' face after Sabonis accidentally hit him in the face with his left hand. Sabonis had also elbowed Wallace below his left eye against Golden State on April 6, also an accident.

Dunleavy said he didn't see what happened, and neither player spoke with reporters after the game.

"We have the trophy as the most dysfunctional team this season," Lakers forward Rick Fox said. "We'll give it to them."

-- Associated Press

Personnel File

SMITH'S TIME: Steve Smith never complained publicly, but he wasn't enamored of his demotion to the Blazers' bench.

Since his days in grade school, the 10-year NBA veteran has always been a starter. But when the 6-8 shooting guard missed a couple of games to the flu in December, he was replaced in the starting lineup by Bonzi Wells -- a young, energetic, and next to Rasheed Wallace, the most talented player on the team.

And Wells stayed there until last Friday, when he went down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament that will sideline him for the rest of the season.

Now, Smith, 32, is back as a starter. After averaging 29 minutes a game coming off the bench, the 2000 Olympian and former All-Star will likely average 35 to 38 minutes a game in the playoffs.

"We are very fortunate that we have a guy like Steve to step in," coach Mike Dunleavy said. "He hasn't played huge minutes all year long, so he is in a position to play bigger minutes as needed."

Smith had very little time off after last season. He seemed worn out when he arrived in training camp off his Olympic experience in Australia, and wasn't shooting well as the regular season began. Dunleavy used the December illness as a time to make a switch, which Smith wasn't thrilled about. But he continued to play hard, and actually has played better off the bench.

"It's not as though I lost my starting job because of my performance," Smith said. "Mike made that choice, I lived with it and I kept playing and kept working. Now I'm back in that situation, but ... you would never wish a knee injury on Bonzi."

The 6-5 Wells was averaging 12.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals and was second in the league behind Shaquille O'Neal with a .533 shooting percentage, easily best among guards.

"He is a tough matchup because of his versatility," Dunleavy said. "He is one of our better guys at taking people off the dribble, and he is one of our best guys at getting easy baskets and getting to the rim. He was one of our scorers who was capable of putting up big numbers. It's a tough loss for us, just from the standpoint of his youth and his energy. What he does for us is very hard to duplicate."

Personnel File

BENCH EXPLORATION: With Wells lost, along with Shawn Kemp (drug abuse rehab), Detlef Schrempf, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony will likely regain regular spots in the rotation.

Dunleavy will be looking for a catalyst to awaken the Blazers from their 7-11 malaise over the past month or so.

SORRY SCENE: Kemp's first season in Portland ended on a dismal note when the team announced the veteran power forward had voluntarily left the team to undergo treatment for cocaine abuse.

The Blazers have made no statements about where Kemp is or when he will begin rehab, and coaches and players have been warned to refrain from comment. Agent Tony Dutt has not returned phone calls from the media.

One New York columnist, citing an unnamed team source, said Kemp was turned in my teammates who were afraid he would "collapse and die on the court."

"Apparently he had gotten so out of control and become so careless, he was regularly getting high in the Blazers bathroom and leaving behind telltale proof," New York Post columnist Peter Vecsey wrote.

General manager Bob Whitsitt has had little comment, other than that the Blazers give full support to Kemp as he attempts to get his personal life in order. Boy do they hope he can accomplish that. The Blazers owe Kemp $71 million over the next four seasons. The four-way trade that sent Brian Grant to Miami and brought Kemp from Cleveland may always be regarded as one of the worst in professional sports history.

Noteworthy

UNDERDOG APPROACH: With the Blazers having fallen from No. 1 to sixth seed in the West over the last month, many skeptics are writing them off.

"That's what I like, for people to doubt us," forward Rasheed Wallace said. "Because then we get to prove them wrong."

NOT-HOT ROD: In the four games following his one-game suspension for a drunk-driving conviction, Rod Strickland made 3 of 18 shots and scored seven points.

"I struggle at times," said Strickland, who has played 17 games with Portland after his release from Washington last month. "I'm still trying to get a feel for things. Sometimes you feel comfortable out there, sometimes you don't. I know sometimes I look like I'm just out there, and I feel that way, too. Maybe I have to find a way to be a little more aggressive."

QUICK STUFF: Veteran center Will Perdue was activated and saw his first action against the Warriors Wednesday. It was his first action since Feb. 15.

QUOTEWORTHY: "Mike has too many players who are, or have been, at the 'great' level. And whether they are there now or not, they all think of themselves as great players. They all want to be major parts of the team, all want to start, all want major minutes, and it just can't happen. It's a very, very difficult coaching job." -- NBA observer and former Blazers coach Jack Ramsay.