Rookie guard Daniel Ewing played well in only his second start in Sunday's 100-94 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden.

The third guard in a three-guard lineup, Ewing played a career-high 37 minutes, scored 11 points and had a personal-best five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

When I was told I was starting, I just had a different mind-set," Ewing said. "I just wanted to go in and try to be as productive as possible and play good, solid defense.

"I wanted to stay real active on the defensive end. I got my hands on a couple of balls, and I rebounded pretty well. Whenever I got an open shot, I wanted to take 'em and be aggressive."

Coach Mike Dunleavy has experimented with the starting lineup because small forward Corey Maggette is sidelined, and Dunleavy found a winning formula Sunday with Ewing in a bigger role.

"I thought he gave us a good game," Dunleavy said. "I thought it was a good matchup."

Ewing, among the team's best perimeter defenders, helped ease the defensive workload on point guard Sam Cassell. Moreover, backup point guard Shaun Livingston, who also has started, provided a boost from the bench.

"I wanted to try and let Shaun play with our second group," Dunleavy said. "I thought he could get them some more shot opportunities."