Ayton, Chris Paul lead as Suns slip past Trail Blazers in OT
Chris Paul #3 of the Phoenix Suns drives to the basket against Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the fourth quarter at Moda Center on December 14, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP
Deandre Ayton recorded 28 points and 13 rebounds and Chris Paul contributed 24 points and 14 assists to help the Phoenix Suns notch a 111-107 overtime victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.
Cameron Payne added 17 points off the bench as the Suns won for the 21st time in their past 23 games. Cameron Johnson scored 12 on four 3-pointers and collected eight rebounds while Jae Crowder had 11 points for Phoenix.
Damian Lillard tallied 31 points and 10 assists for Portland, which has lost six straight games and nine of its past 10. The Trail Blazers also dropped their fifth straight home game after opening the season with a 10-1 run.
Season-high scoring nights and double-doubles for @CP3 and @DeandreAyton lift the @Suns in overtime!
Paul: 24 PTS, 14 AST
Ayton: 28 PTS, 13 REB pic.twitter.com/1xlZZY2qQw— NBA (@NBA) December 15, 2021
Norman Powell scored 23 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 17 points and 13 rebounds for Portland.
Suns star Devin Booker (hamstring) sat out for the sixth straight game.
Johnson buried a 3-pointer to give Phoenix a 107-104 lead with 3:09 remaining in overtime. Powell hit a jumper for Portland before Ayton scored in the interior with 1:46 left to again make it a three-point margin.
The Suns intentionally fouled Lillard with 11.9 seconds left, and the Portland star split the pair of free throws. Payne made two foul shots with 10 seconds left to sew up the win for Phoenix.
Portland played without CJ McCollum (collapsed lung) for the fourth consecutive contest. The Trail Blazers shot 41.7 percent from the field and were 13 of 41 from 3-point range.
"Congrats to Steph…that's history, man."
After dropping 24 points and 14 assists in the Suns win, Chris Paul shows respect to his fellow #NBA75 Anniversary Team member's historic achievement earlier in the night! pic.twitter.com/PejOwldhCM
— NBA (@NBA) December 15, 2021
The Suns made 47.3 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 11 of 31 from behind the arc.
Powell converted a three-point play to give Portland a 100-96 lead with 1:20 remaining in regulation. Payne and CP3 made baskets to tie the score before Nurkic and Powell each split two free throws.
Chris Paul took advantage by knocking down a jumper with 7.7 seconds left to force overtime.
Phoenix rattled off 10 straight points early in the third quarter to take a 59-45 lead before Portland outscored the Suns by 16 the remainder of the quarter.
The Suns led 73-64 before the Trail Blazers finished the quarter with 11 straight points. Robert Covington scored the final eight, including a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left that gave Portland a 75-73 edge entering the final stanza.
Ayton’s layup with 3:19 left in regulation knotted the score at 91.
Ayton scored 13 first-half points as the Suns led 49-43 at the break.
