Winners of three straight and five of their last six against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Phoenix Suns rode into Portland high on their high cactus, looking to drag home another win through the coarse Arizona sand. But the Trail Blazers didn’t give them a chance, building a near-20 point lead, losing all of it, then rebuilding a 20+ point lead to run away with the 108-87 win. It is the Trail Blazers’ first winning streak since since January 14th, and their first 20+ point win since December 28th.
Recap
Both teams started out looking uglier than week-old egg salad. The Suns and Trail Blazers a combined 4-for-21 to start the game, and Portland had a commanding 6-5 lead with 6:15 left in the first quarter. A sequence with two offensive boards and three missed threes highlighted their deep shooting woes, but they forced more than a half-dozen Phoenix turnovers to open up a 27-15 lead by the end of the first.
The mercurial C.J. McCollum hit a three, and a few more buckets later the Trail Blazers capped a 26-10 run and found themselves up 34-15. They weathered a little Suns run, and seemed to have resettled, and it was 46-35 at the half. Meyers Leonard was playing particularly well.
The Suns went on another run, and cut it to five with 7:30 to go in the third. Then the Suns threw another punch to close within two. Then another to take the lead for the first time since the first quarter, when the score was 5-4 in their favor. The Blazers did barely enough to lead going into the fourth, 66-65.
A 6-0 run came from great defense and a fast break dunk from Leonard, as well as good work by Lopez. The Trail Blazers’ centers sparked a run. Haven’t been able to say that… mm… maybe ever this season.
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With the Phoenix desperate to keep the game from getting out of control, Portland dug in their heels and refused to give another inch. During the crucial late-game stretch, Lopez recorded his season-high 12th rebound, and LaMarcus Aldridge moved into first place on the Trail Blazers’ all-time double-double list with the 220th of his career.
Now sporting a stylish and comfortable 10-point lead, the Trail Blazers hit the gas and the Suns faded into the rearview faster than you can fail to think of a clever play on words about suns. Portland strutted off the court heads held high, 108-87.
Players
Robin Lopez gets his seconnd consecutive Player-of-the-Game award in my eyes. He didn’t have the biggest numbers, but his impact… let us never forget how much worse the Trail Blazers looked without him. His 11 and 12 with four blocks was good. Very good. But he was felt even beyond those (more than respectable) numbers: it was his first 11-12-4 game since April of 2014 against, coincidentally, the Suns.
Nicolas Batum led all Blazers in scoring with 20 points. He also had four boards and seven assists with a steal. Lopez is probably his best friend, because he’s been cookin’ these last two games, and had just his 2nd 20-point game of the season. Maybe part of it is the small wrist brace, maybe it’s RoLo, maybe it’s the merciful end of a mental block… or maybe it’s a little bit of each. Whatever is happening, we just want to see it keep happening for Nico. The Trail Blazers are a completely different team when he’s on point.
LaMarcus Aldridge is now the Trail Blazers’ all-time leader in double-doubles as we said before. He had a handsome 19 and 13 with two blocks, and the Suns were clearly trying to take him out of rhythm with relentless double-teaming. Fortunately for the Trail Blazers, two things happened: the Trail Blazers were diligent about moving the ball and everyone was a threat, and Aldridge was able to maneuver out of those traps often enough for the Suns to second-guess it… but it took a while.
Damian Lillard continued to struggle from deep, but made his own way in the paint to at least get 13-4-3 with two steals and a block. We’re all looking forward to a nice breakout game from Dame, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Wesley Matthews hit just two of the eight threes he took for 14 points, but tied his longest career streak of consecutive games (10) with multiple threes. He also had eight(!) rebounds and three assists. It’s always nice when he produces even when his shot is off.
Meyers Leonard went from not seeing the court to one of the Trail Blazers’ most reliable bench players. Tonight he tallied eight points and eight rebounds with a solid presence down low (you read that right), and a lot of altered shots. Another great showing from Leonard.
C.J. McCollum looked confident for his 12 points, shooting 4-7 with four boards and two dimes. He also had some weird “my hands are made of stone” moments. He’s young. He’ll get it.
The Trail Blazers have a day to rest before traveling to Dallas to face the Mavericks on Saturday, Joel Freeland‘s birthday.