The Phoenix Suns lost a game they shouldn’t have to the Portland Trail Blazers As Vogel Suspends His..
The Phoenix Suns lost a game they shouldn’t have to the Portland Trail 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.