NBA: Portland Trail Blazers wins 134-105 against Phoenix Suns

NBA, Portland Trail Blazers vs Phoenix Suns: CJ McCollum helped with 28 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 134-105 victory over the Phoenix Suns who came to this game after a handsome victory against Los Angeles Lakers.

The Blazers were one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA last season and under a new head coach, that is one of their biggest tasks. Billups said the Blazers are ”working on” creating their identity but have yet to define it. ”I want us to be tough, I want us to compete every single night and I want us to be unselfish on both ends,” he said.

The host were so dominant that did not even give a single quarter to the visitors. Pocketing every quarter without mercy. Five players from the Blazers were in double digits and Jusuf Nurkic nearly scored a double-double with 12 rebounds and 9 points.

Sun didn’t rise at Portland with only Devin Booker going over 20 points. last match heroes looked tired including Chris Paul coming from a hot game was very sluggish and had only four points.

Portland Trail Blazers had fewer turnovers, had four more blocks, and two more steals than the visitors. The issue for Suns was their three-point only 32.1% from behind the arc.

Damian Lillard finished with 19 points and eight assists, while Anfernee Simons pitched in 18 points off the bench. But the defense was what caught the coach’s eye.

Lillard made his first 3-pointer of the season with 1:03 left in the second quarter after missing his first 11 attempts behind the arc. Portland led by 20 at halftime, with the only first-half mishap coming when Norman Powell left the game with 5:43 remaining in the second quarter due to a left knee injury.

Only four players were in double-digit scoring for the suns. Mikal Bridges, Elfrid Payton, and Javale McGee are the other players with Devin Booker.

Nassir Little was given the opportunity in place of Norman Powell and he did grab the chance with 11 points and 7 rebounds along with 2 assists. Ben McLemore also had a decent six minutes at last with six points.

Coming from a win against LA Lakers, Phoenix Suns would not have thought of this. Taking a loss is okay but a loss of 30 points makes you wonder about the quality of play from the Suns.