Suns stop late Trail Blazers comeback with fourth straight win

Phoenix Suns (5-1) extended their winning streak to four, preventing a late comeback Portland Trail Blazers103-97, Saturday.

The Suns’ big three of Devin Booker (game-high 28 points, nine assists), Kevin Durant (21 points, nine rebounds) and Bradley Beal (15 points, seven rebounds, four assists) led their big surge in the third quarter. their biggest lead was 26 points at the start of the fourth, which helped them stay ahead until the end.

But Blazers leading scorers Jerami Grant (20 points, 7 rebounds), Anfernee Simons (20 points, 8 assists, 6 turnovers) and Deandre Ayton (10 points, 13 rebounds) combined to cut the lead to two in the final minute. .

Booker’s bonus free throws after Grant fouled with 4.3 left in the game sealed the victory.

The Suns continue their three-game homestand against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday at 8:15 p.m.

Suns lead in third quarter

Phoenix opened the game with a 3-pointer in the third to take an 87-65 lead.

After shooting 29.6% from the perimeter, the Suns made 9 of 17 threes in the first half and shot over 50% from beyond the arc in the third. The Suns went on an 11-2 run to regain the lead by five just after the 10-minute mark. The Blazers tied the game at 54–54 at 9:15, then the Suns went up again 26–4 for their largest lead of the game at 22 in the final minutes.

The game’s leading scorers were Kevin Durant (21 points), Devin Booker (18) and Bradley Beal (13) for the Suns.

Blazers retake lead as Durant hits milestone in 2nd quarter

Durant scored nine of his game-high 14 points in the second quarter, but the Suns relinquished the lead, trailing 47-43 at halftime.

He also made his 10,000th field goal in the opening minutes of the game, tying him with LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers as the only active players to reach that mark.

The Suns started the quarter on a 7-0 run within the first two minutes behind Durant’s four-point play and three more from him. This increased their largest lead to 11.

The Blazers surged from there and regained a 47-43 lead in the final minutes of the half, led by Jerami Grant with 11 points and Anfernee Simons with 10 points.

Suns ahead after tough first quarter

It was the first low-scoring period in which Phoenix led Portland 22-18.

Devin Booker has the Suns’ most points with six, while Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal each have five points. The Blazers’ DeAndre Ayton has done the best for his team so far, with five points and four rebounds.

Both teams shot poorly: just 30% for Phoenix and 20.7% for Portland.

Beal will be in the Suns starting lineup

Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said in his pregame media message that Bradley Beal (elbow) has been moved to free agency. He returned to the starting lineup along with Tyus Jones, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic.

The Trail Blazers’ starting lineup included forwards Jerami Grant and Toumani Kamara, center Deandre Ayton and guards Deni Avdija and Anfernee Simons.

Beal hopes to return, Okogie makes season debut for Suns

Bradley Beal (questionable with right elbow soreness) said during the Suns’ media shootaround Saturday that he is feeling better and will try to return to the starting lineup against Portland. Beal missed Phoenix’s 125-119 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, the second game he has missed since the Suns’ regular season began Oct. 23 against the same team.

Suns reserve forward Josh Okogie (hamstring) will make his season debut against Portland.

Blazers Shadon Sharpe (shoulder), Matisse Thybulle (knee) and Robert Williams III (hamstring) were out for the game.