Trail Blazers 96, Suns 93: Damian Lillard scored a game-high 25 points and added seven assists as host Portland completed a six-game homestand with its fifth straight win.
J.J. Hickson contributed 19 points and 15 rebounds, LaMarcus Aldridge chipped in 17 and nine and Nicolas Batum recorded 13, nine and eight assists for the Trail Blazers, who have won seven straight home meetings with the Suns.
Marcin Gortat had 18 points and nine boards while Shannon Brown added 15 points for Phoenix, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
The Suns led by two points after the opening quarter and pushed the advantage to nine at halftime. An 8-0 run in the third after Portland got within two gave Phoenix a double-digit lead, but the Trail Blazers closed the quarter with a 12-2 burst to forge a 75-75 tie.
Portland took a one-point lead on a driving layup by Ronnie Price with 6:28 remaining in the fourth and increased it to 92-85 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Sasha Pavlovic and Lillard. A layup by Jared Dudley with 38.9 seconds left got the Suns within three, but Goran Dragic missed a 3-pointer with less than a second to go, sealing the win for Portland.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Hickson scored 13 of Portland's 23 first-quarter points. ... Aldridge returned from a one-game absence due to an ankle injury. ... Phoenix has not won five straight games since Jan. 12-21, 2011.
Phoenix | Portland | |
Marcin Gortat 18 | Scoring | Damian Lillard 25 |
Jared Dudley 10 | Assists | Nicolas Batum 8 |
Marcin Gortat 9 | Rebounds | J.J. Hickson 15 |
Jermaine O'Neal 5 | Free Throws Made | Damian Lillard 9 |
Shannon Brown 4 | Steals | Nicolas Batum 2 |
Markieff Morris 1 | Blocks | LaMarcus Aldridge 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Phoenix | 93 | 44.9 | 5-19 | 8-11 | 26 | 32 | 1 | 12 | 11 |
Portland | 96 | 47.8 | 7-20 | 23-28 | 21 | 45 | 4 | 5 | 22 |