Trail Blazers-Suns Preview

By JUSTIN EINHORN
Posted Nov 20 2012 2:33PM

Three straight wins have the Portland Trail Blazers feeling they're headed in the right direction.

Three consecutive losses have the Phoenix Suns about to change theirs.

Portland looks to continue its rejuvenation on offense against arguably the league's worst defensive team Wednesday night with a visit to Phoenix, which could test a new-look lineup.

A victory would give the Blazers (5-5) their longest winning streak and first set of back-to-back road wins since March 2011. They had dropped four in a row before this three-game run.

"We won the last three games and we needed to," said Damian Lillard, who leads all rookies with 19.0 points and 6.1 assists per game. He's the first player to post averages that high through his first 10 games since Isiah Thomas in 1981.

"We dropped three at home and it was important for us to try to get back to .500 with three winnable games. Now we have to try to go get another one on the road."

That appears very possible considering how the Suns (4-7) have played. They would match their longest home losing streak of the past eight years with a third straight defeat in Phoenix on Wednesday. No team is giving up more points per game (104.3) or a worse 3-point percentage (43.2).

Portland has been among the NBA's top 3-point shooting teams (38.5 percent), including Nicolas Batum hitting 20 of 41 over the past five games while averaging 25.0 points.

The Blazers have scored more than 100 points in every game during the win streak while hitting 49.8 percent from the field. They shot 40.4 percent in their previous six games and surpassed 95 points only once.

"It feels good, getting our juices going, our confidence going," Wesley Matthews said after scoring 21 in a 102-94 win over Chicago on Sunday. "We're finally playing like a team that knows how to win."

The Suns certainly aren't, failing to lead after the first quarter or at halftime in any of their last six games. They didn't score for the first 4:13 on Saturday in a 97-88 home loss to Miami.

"We can't keep playing like this," coach Alvin Gentry said. "We have to do something where we can make an adjustment and we'll see what can happen from here."

One adjustment could be changing the starting lineup, something Gentry suggested Saturday with his team having three days off between games. He wasn't specific, but it seems there are many possibilities.

While center Marcin Gortat has totaled 10 points over the last two games, veteran reserve Jermaine O'Neal has 22 points and 11 rebounds in that span after sitting out six games (family matter).

Luis Scola averaged 18.8 points and 10.0 rebounds in his previous four games before playing less than 15 minutes Saturday and scoring three points. Backup Markieff Morris had a season-high 16.

While Jared Dudley has averaged 6.7 points during the losing streak, sixth man Shannon Brown is the team's third-leading scorer (13.4) despite averaging 22.3 minutes.

Michael Beasley is the only starter shooting below 40 percent from the field (36.2).

"No matter if you start, no matter if you come off the bench, you have to play with energy," Beasley said. "... We have to play like we want to win. We can't decide we want to win halfway through the second quarter, we're not that good yet. So if (Gentry) changes the starting lineup, that's his decision."

The Blazers have lost three straight in Phoenix, including two last season by a combined 43 points.

Gortat leads Suns in 114-87 rout of Trail Blazers

By JONATHAN DALTON
Posted Nov 22 2012 12:49AM

PHOENIX (AP) Suns coach Alvin Gentry retooled his starting lineup with the hope he'd get a little more scoring from his top unit.

He did.

Marcin Gortat scored a season-high 22 points in only three quarters and the Suns routed the Portland Trail Blazers 114-87 on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

"We came out ready to play," Gortat said. "We had two new guys in the starting lineup and we were a little bit better defensively. It's a great win but we need to forget about it really fast."

Gortat had told a reporter for Polish newspaper Przeglad Sportowy after the Suns' loss to the Lakers on Friday that he didn't believe he was "even an option for (Suns coach Alvin) Gentry."

But against the Blazers, Gortat was a key component of a Phoenix offense that shot 60 percent from the field in the first half en route to a 57-44 lead and a season-best 59.7 percent for the game. Gortat was 11 of 14 from the floor and added seven rebounds.

"Honestly, we can't get excited about that game because Portland didn't play their best game," Gortat said.

The new starters, Markieff Morris and Shannon Brown, were productive for the Suns.

Morris had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Brown added 10, including a pair of 3-pointers as Phoenix rallied from a four-point deficit in the opening minutes to take the lead for good with 7:23 left in the first quarter.

"I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself so I just came out and played hard," Morris said.

The Suns have been playing from behind nearly the entire season, trailing by double digits in each of their past six games and in all but one this season coming in. Gentry had been mulling a change for the past week.

"We never dug ourselves a hole so when we made those runs tonight we went from being up to putting the game in a pretty good position," Gentry said. "We weren't making up 10, 15 points and getting to where we were back to even."

Jermaine O'Neal added 17 points off the bench and Goran Dragic had 15 points and eight assists for Phoenix.

Damian Lillard had 24 points and three assists for the Blazers, who had won three straight. Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum had 13 points apiece for Portland, which was without starting center JJ Hickson, out with a left shoulder sprain.

"All that matters to me is we got blown out," Lillard said.

The Trail Blazers committed 20 turnovers, received only 13 points from their reserves - seven in the fourth quarter and was outscored 54-24 in the paint.

"That is a strength of theirs and not necessarily our strength so I did probably anticipate a differential but not 30," said Blazers coach Terry Stotts. "It's not all effort. It's being mentally engaged."

The Blazers rallied briefly in the third quarter, cutting a deficit that had ballooned to 21 points to 11, 73-62, on a 3-pointer by Lillard with 5:38 left in the period.

But Dragic and Morris scored consecutive baskets and the Suns went on a 16-5 run to take an 86-67 lead with 1:26 to go in the third.

NOTES: The Suns won their second game against a team with a .500-plus record. ... Batum, who has been fighting a severe cold, was a game-time decision. ... Dragic has had double-digit steals in a career-best seven straight games. ... Blazers rookie center Meyers Leonard, starting in place of Hickson, scored 12 points on 6 of 9 shooting and added five rebounds. ... Phoenix had not shot better than 50 percent since April 16, also against Portland. ... Portland has not won in Phoenix since December 10, 2010. The Blazers are 2-12 at US Airways Center since the start of the 2004-05 season. ... The Suns had not shot more than 50 percent from the field yet this season.

Notebook: Suns 114, Blazers 87

Jonathan Dalton, For NBA.com
Posted Thu Nov 22, 2012 12:58 AM - Updated Thu Nov 22, 2012 12:58 AM

THE FACTS: Shannon Brown and Markieff Morris, announced in the starting lineup an hour before tip-off, combined for 29 points and Marcin Gortat added a season-high 22 points as the Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers 114-87 Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

Brown scored 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers as the Suns (5-7) rallied from a four-point deficit in the game's first three minutes, and Morris added 19 on 9-for-13 shooting. Jermaine O'Neal scored a season-best 17 off the bench for Phoenix, Goran Dragic had 15 and P.J. Tucker finished with 11.

Damian Lillard scored a game-high 24 points for the Blazers. All five Portland starters scored in double digits, but the Blazers (5-6) received only 13 points from their bench -- all but six coming in the fourth quarter. Nicolas Batum, a game-time decision with a severe cold, and Wesley Matthews had 13 points each.

Portland rallied in the third quarter, cutting what had become a 21-point deficit to 11 on a long 3-pointer by Lillard with 5:38 to go. But the Suns regained control and Dragic twice converted a pair of free throws to give the Suns a 88-69 lead with 58.3 left in the period.

QUOTABLE: "Honestly, we can't get too excited with that game because Portland didn't play their best game."

-- Marcin Gortat

THE STAT: Phoenix shot a season-best 59.7 percent for the game, the first time the Suns have cracked the 50-percent barrier this season. The Suns also outscored the Blazers in the paint by a whopping 54-24 margin.

TURNING POINT: An hour before game time, Blazers coach Terry Stotts announced center J.J. Hickson was out with a sprained left shoulder. A few minutes later, Suns coach Alvin Gentry said Brown and Morris would start in place of Jared Dudley and Luis Scola. All three moves had a considerable impact on the game. Without Hickson, the Blazers were dominated in the paint. And with Brown and Morris in the lineup, Phoenix avoided what had become a near-automatic double-digit deficit for the first time in its past seven games and the second time in 12 games overall.

QUOTABLE II: "When a team shoots 60 percent all night long, we're not doing a lot of right defensively."

-- Terry Stotts

HOT: Gortat and O'Neal combined to shoot 18-for-23 from the floor and pull down 12 rebounds. O'Neal also blocked a pair of shots, recorded a steal and was hit with a technical to fill out his stat line.

NOT: Suns forward Michael Beasley remained a starter in name, but played reserved minutes. Beasley played just over nine minutes in the first and third quarters, sat out the entire second and fourth and finished the game with five points in 18:56 of playing time. Beasley was coming off four straight double-digit scoring games and played 37-plus minutes in Phoenix's past two games.

NOT II: LaMarcus Aldridge was held to 12 points on 5-for-15 shooting.

NOTABLE: Portland has not won in Phoenix since Dec. 10, 2010, and has dropped 12 of its last 14 at US Airways Center. ... Dragic has multiple steals in a career-best seven straight games. ... O'Neal, Scola and Gentry all were whistled for technicals. ... Phoenix's 32 third-quarter points were a season high.

ROOKIE WATCH: Meyers Leonard made his first career start with Hickson sidelined with a sprained left shoulder and scored 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting.

UP NEXT: For the Blazers, Friday vs. Timberwolves, Sunday @ Nets, Monday @ Pistons. For the Suns, Friday vs. Hornets, Sunday @ 76ers, Tuesday @ Cavaliers.

• Trail Blazers: Hickson, Williams
• Suns: Frye, Garrett

• Trail Blazers: --
• Suns: Gentry, O'Neal, Scola

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #44 Eli Roe
• Attendance: 14263
• Duration: 2:13