NBA, Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers: Ayton and Paul got together to lift Phoenix Suns to the top in an overtime win against Portland Trail Blazers.
For Blazers it was Damian Lillard leading with 31 points and 10 assists on 11-of-31 shooting. Suns were making it hard for Lillard to score and force him to take tough shots.
DeAndre Ayton got off to a strong start for the Suns early on, finishing through contact and in traffic on consecutive possessions, rolling hard to the rim.
Right after the first quarter, Phoenix Suns were leading by 11 points. Ayton and Crowder both secured 9 points, while Lillard gathered 6 points and Shamet 5.
From 11 points down, Blazers fought back hard while the Suns took the lead for granted entering the zone of relaxation. Cutting the lead down to just six points at the end of the first half.
Leading the visitors with 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 3-3 from the charity stripe was DeAndre Ayton. Cam Johnson and Cam Payne each chipped in with 6 points off the bench. Crowder had 9 points on 9 shots.
The worry was the 11 turnovers at halftime for the Suns. However, they fastened their belt at the third quarter again building a double-digit lead.
However, the Blazers went on another run in the middle of the third, cutting the Suns lead to just four at 73-to-69, leading to a Suns timeout. The Suns’ offense went ice cold for about a six-minute stretch, sorely missing Devin Booker.
Portland finished the final four minutes on a 14-to-2 scoring run to pull ahead by 2 at the end of the 3rd quarter by the score of 75-73.
The opening phase of the fourth quarter was in Portland’s favor when Tony Snell hit back-to-back threes while Lillard scored high percentage shots. All of this with the Suns struggling defensively.
Cam Johnson hit a critical three with 5:30 remaining in the game to cut it down to a one-point game to swing some momentum back in Phoenix’s favor. Ultimately, the Point God took over and settled things down to guide them to another late-game win.
