Recap: Suns hit back, knocked out Blazers to win 5th game in a row, 127-121.

The Suns rocked a bit of rust early in the game (typical of any team returning from a break) to secure their 25th win of the season. It’s been 5 straight wins for Phoenix heading into a home game against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

It’s just a very exciting basketball to watch, it was an absolute joy to see them clinch win after win this season. Battling multiple double-digit deficits against a playoff team is not an easy thing to do.

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First half

The start of the game featured punches from Portland and Phoenix, with Damian Lillard commanding a lot of defensive attention, which led to a bunch of open looks for Enes Kanter.

Mikal Bridges played his usual (boring) stellar defense on the pitch and made timely cuts as usual during the transition which led to some easy buckets.

Devin Booker also made this pass à la Steve Nash.

As the second quarter approached, the Suns were trailing 33-30 despite Cam Payne’s 8 quick points on just 3 shots in 5 minutes in the first quarter.

The back-and-forth affair continued into the start of the 2nd quarter as Suns’ second unit + Chris Paul in the non-Booker staggered minutes fought hard.

Portland’s hot shots from the depths extended the lead to 47-37 leading to a timeout for Monty Williams.

Keeping the three-point line was a strength for the Suns, but not at first as the Scorching Blazers were 10-20 (50%) from deep.

Mikal Bridges’ off-ball movement was incredible, as almost all of his 16 points in the first half were a direct result of his cut, move or escape in transition.

A very strong close to the quarterback cut off Portland’s header in a flurry, heading for the half tied at 60-60 in a game that looked like a blast until about the last 90 seconds of the 2nd quarter.

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Second part

Portland’s three-point hot shots continued as they built up a 9-point lead largely due to Dame’s shooting gravity creating easy looks for the others.

Lillard started to get into his rhythm offensively, which isn’t ideal in a game where Portland had a comfortable lead. My key to the game in the preview wasn’t to leave Portland lying around for “Dame Time,” and they didn’t.

The Blazers were winning 50/50 bullets, pushing each other harder and shattering the glass. Those little pieces certainly added up and were normally a highlight for the Suns, but not tonight.

Portland extended their lead to 11, 90-79 with 3:30 left in the third quarter.

Devin Booker slowly started to warm up at the end of the third, racking up 26 points heading into the final period. The Suns had another run at the end of the quarter to reduce the Blazers’ lead to 4, 94-80 before 4th.

Chris Paul made a pair of critical plays on back-to-back possessions, draining three points when it was just a two-point game, then drew a shrewd foul on Carmelo to get two free throws, making him – even a 5-0 run.

Devin Booker checks in. Devin Booker scores 5 points in two possessions. Those closest to the Suns stepped up to extend the lead to 10, forcing a timeout from Terry Stotts.

Cameron Payne also had another great game, registering 13 points in 20 minutes on a 4 for 5 shot with 3 threes and 6 assists.

There was a scary moment at the end of 4th, as Booker appeared to hit his knees with Derrick Jones Jr. and winced in pain, but stayed in the game to shut things up.

The Suns came out on top, 127-121 despite a rather disappointing start to the game, they shook the rust.

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Game star

Devin Booker– 35 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds on 12/21 shot (3/5 3PFG, 8 / 8FT).

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following

Suns vs. Pacers (8:00 p.m.)