National Basketball Association
Phoenix 111, Portland 107
When: 10:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Officials: #18 Matt Boland, #4 Sean Wright, #68 Jacyn Goble
Attendance: 16184

Deandre Ayton recorded 28 points and 13 rebounds and Chris Paul contributed 24 points and 14 assists to help the Phoenix Suns notch a 111-107 overtime victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

Cameron Payne added 17 points off the bench as the Suns won for the 21st time in their past 23 games. Cameron Johnson scored 12 on four 3-pointers and collected eight rebounds while Jae Crowder had 11 points for Phoenix.

Damian Lillard tallied 31 points and 10 assists for Portland, which has lost six straight games and nine of its past 10. The Trail Blazers also dropped their fifth straight home game after opening the season with a 10-1 run.

Norman Powell scored 23 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 17 points and 13 rebounds for Portland.

Suns star Devin Booker (hamstring) sat out for the sixth straight game.

Johnson buried a 3-pointer to give Phoenix a 107-104 lead with 3:09 remaining in overtime. Powell hit a jumper for Portland before Ayton scored in the interior with 1:46 left to again make it a three-point margin.

The Suns intentionally fouled Lillard with 11.9 seconds left, and the Portland star split the pair of free throws. Payne made two foul shots with 10 seconds left to sew up the win for Phoenix.

Portland played without CJ McCollum (collapsed lung) for the fourth consecutive contest. The Trail Blazers shot 41.7 percent from the field and were 13 of 41 from 3-point range.

The Suns made 47.3 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 11 of 31 from behind the arc.

Powell converted a three-point play to give Portland a 100-96 lead with 1:20 remaining in regulation. Payne and Paul made baskets to tie the score before Nurkic and Powell each split two free throws.

Paul took advantage by knocking down a jumper with 7.7 seconds left to force overtime.

Phoenix rattled off 10 straight points early in the third quarter to take a 59-45 lead before Portland outscored the Suns by 16 the remainder of the quarter.

The Suns led 73-64 before the Trail Blazers finished the quarter with 11 straight points. Robert Covington scored the final eight, including a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left that gave Portland a 75-73 edge entering the final stanza.

Ayton's layup with 3:19 left in regulation knotted the score at 91.

Ayton scored 13 first-half points as the Suns led 49-43 at the break.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Phoenix   Portland
Deandre Ayton 28 Scoring Damian Lillard 31
Chris Paul 14 Assists Damian Lillard 10
Deandre Ayton 13 Rebounds Jusuf Nurkic 13
Deandre Ayton 4 Free Throws Made Damian Lillard 4
Chris Paul 3 Steals Larry Nance Jr. 3
N/A Blocks Robert Covington 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Phoenix 111 47.3 11-31 12-15 30 49 0 7 14
Portland 107 41.7 13-41 14-22 23 48 3 7 14
Upcoming Games
  • Portland will play their next game at home against Memphis. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .455 after a win and .353 after a loss.
  • Phoenix will play their next game at home against Washington. The Suns have a W/L % of .818 after a win and .800 after a loss.