Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton, left, drives to the basket against Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. The Blazers won 109-104. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes)
PORTLAND, Oregon — DeAndre Ayton had a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds, Anfernee Simons had 23 points and seven rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers erased a 22-point deficit to beat the Phoenix Suns 109-104 on Tuesday night and snap a seven-game losing streak.
Phoenix lost for the fifth time in their last seven games. Phoenix’s Kevin Durant led all scorers with 40 points in the loss while Devin Booker had 26 points and seven assists.
Simons’ layup with 10.7 seconds left helped stop a late Phoenix rally after Portland pushed their lead to 14 in the fourth quarter.
ANT SEALS IT FOR #RIPCITY pic.twitter.com/xLR8Sg4W7k
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 20, 2023
Jerami Grant also had 22 points for Portland, while Malcolm Brogdon had 14 points and four assists off the bench. Brogdon started the second half in place of Shaedon Sharpe, who left the game with a groin injury.
Portland was hot from the 3-point line all night, making 14 of 28 3-pointers to just five for Phoenix.
Another reason for Portland’s second half success was taking better care of the ball. Portland had 11 turnovers in the first half, but only six turnovers after halftime.
Portland took its first lead since the opening minute of the game at 68-67 with 6:06 left in the third quarter. The Blazers outscored Phoenix 38-20 in the third quarter, helping them take an 87-81 lead into the final frame.
The Suns jumped to a 36-20 lead after the first quarter and pushed their lead to as many as 22 in the first half. Phoenix’s defense was the catalyst to their success as they scored 23 points on 17 Blazers turnovers.
UP NEXT
Suns: Play Friday at the Sacramento Kings.
Trail Blazers: Host the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.