Suns Stunned in Loss to Blazers
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns have some soul searching to do after dropping to 14-13 on the year following a 109-104 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, who entered the night on a seven-game losing streak.
The Suns got out to a strong 18-8 start to begin action after going 7-10 from the field, pushing the pace much like fans have been asking for as of late.
Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe picked up a quick two fouls and pushed rookie Scoot Henderson into action earlier than anticipated. So too did Anfernee Simons, who picked up a quick second foul with four minutes left in the first.
Phoenix finished the first frame up 36-20. Durant/Booker finished with nine points each. Portland had ten turnovers in the first twelve minutes, and everything had looked promising for the Suns to turn their poor form around.
The Trail Blazers eventually found their footing and narrowed Phoenix's lead to nine, taking advantage of Durant's presence on the bench and ultimately forcing Frank Vogel to call a timeout with 7:28 left in the first half.
The Suns didn't quite adjust out of the break, as Portland managed to dwindle their deficit to just two points. With Durant back on the floor, Phoenix pushed their advantage back to double digits to head into the locker room up 61-49.
It was again the Trail Blazers who got out of the the quarter with a hot start, going on a quick 10-0 run to again force Vogel to take a timeout.
Minutes later, Portland took a 71-67 lead after a 22-3 run after Phoenix went cold in every conceivable way.
The two sides battled back-and-forth into the final buzzer of the third with the Trail Blazers leading 87-81 heading into fourth. The Suns were outscored 38-20 in the third but still were within striking distance.
Exchanging blows to begin the fourth, Portland eventually pulled their lead to double digits in 100-89 fashion with under six minutes to play and never relinquished control despite the Suns drawing within three in the final minute of play.
With 10.7 seconds remaining, Simons delivered a dagger on a floater over Grayson Allen to ice the game.
All the pace and positivity Phoenix previously generated had officially vanished, which was capped by Booker's slow start to the second half by shooting just 3-of-11. He was temporarily benched - likely to allow him to gather and compose his self - before entering the final minutes of the game.
The Suns finished with a mere 21.7% success rate from three on 5-23 shooting. They received just 14 bench points compared to Portland's 43.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Kevin Durant: 40 points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals
Devin Booker: 26 points, three rebounds, seven assists
Anfernee Simons: 23 points, three rebounds, seven assists
Deandre Ayton: 16 points, 15 rebounds, three assists
Jerami Grant: 22 points, one rebound, four assists, two blocks
WHAT'S NEXT
The Suns are on the road Friday against the Sacramento Kings.
