SERIES HISTORY
ALL TIME: Suns lead, 128-111
PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 74-45
PHOENIX HOME: Suns lead, 83-37
SERIES NOTES
- Portland and Phoenix will meet for the third and final time of the regular season on Nov. 5 on the second night of back-to-back matchups.
- LAST NIGHT: The Trail Blazers came out on top against the Suns with a 108-106 win on Nov. 4. Jerami Grant hit a fadeaway shot at the buzzer to secure the win for Portland.
- THIS SEASON: The Trail Blazers defeated the Suns in a 113-111 overtime win in Portland on Oct. 21. Damian Lillard finished with a game-high 41 points, marking the 41st career game in which he has scored 40-plus points.
- By taking the first two contests this season, the Trail Blazers have won the three-game season series versus the Suns.
- LAST SEASON: Portland lost the 2021-22 season series against Phoenix, 1-3.
- In 36 career games against the Suns, Damian Lillard has scored 30-plus points 11 times and 40-plus points three times.
NEWS AND NOTES
CAN'T STOP GRANT: Jerami Grant went off for a season-high 30 points against the Suns on Nov. 4, marking his highest scoring half as a Blazer with 18 points in the first half and hitting the game-winning shot at the buzzer to secure the win for Portland.
WINSLOW WINS: Justise Winslow came close to a triple-double with 12 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in Friday night's victory in Phoenix, his first start of the season
KNOCKING DOWN THREES: Jusuf Nurkic shot 3-3 from three-point range on Nov. 2 vs. Memphis, marking a career-best 3PM and his fourth career game with multiple 3PM. He then followed that up by going 2-2 from three in the win versus Phoenix on Nov. 4. What's more, the "Bosnian Beast" hasn't missed a three-pointer in the last three games, the longest such streak of his career.
ANFERNO: Anfernee Simons erupted in the third quarter of Monday night's win vs. DEN, scoring 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting and 6-of-7 from three. Simons finished the game with 29 points as he shot 7-of-12 from three. It is Simons eighth game as a pro in which he has made 7+ three pointers in a game.
SET A BLAZE: The Trail Blazers scored 135 points in a win Monday night vs. Denver and scored 80 points in the second half, with 44 points coming in the third quarter. The last time the Blazers have scored at least 80 points in a second half was Feb. 3, 1989 at LAL. Portland's season-high for points scored in a quarter last season was 42 points, which occurred twice.
BACK-TO-BACK 40 PIECES: Damian Lillard has scored 41 points in consecutive games vs. Phoenix and at L.A. Lakers. Dame last recorded consecutive 40+ point games in the bubble (recorded three in a row, August 9th, 11th and 13th, 2020).
It is also the fifth time in his career that Dame has recorded at least 40 points in consecutive games.
CHASING HISTORY: Damian Lillard entered the 2022-23 season with 17,510 career points. He has scored 61 points on the young season and needs 470 points to pass Clyde Drexler and become the leading scorer in franchise history.
THE SHARPER IMAGE: Trail Blazers Rookie Shaedon Sharpe tallied 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting including 3-of-3 from distance. Sharpe is the first Blazer to score in double figures in his NBA debut since Jake Layman (17) in 2016. He's also the third Blazer in history to hit three or more 3-FG in their NBA debuts.
Most 3PM by a Blazer in NBA debut:
5......J. Layman (11/1/16 vs. GSW)
3......R. Fernandez (10/28/08 vs. LAL)
3......S. Sharpe (10/19/22 vs. SAC)
SCORING 40 and 30: Damian Lillard scored his 41 points in the overtime win over Phoenix on Friday night. It was the 41st career game in which Dame has scored 40 points or more. It also becomes the 200th occurrence in which Dame as scored at least 30 points or more in a game. Lillard continues to widen the margin for most career games in which he's scored 40+ points and 30+ points in franchise history.
GRANTED: Jerami Grant led the Trail Blazers in scoring with 23 points. His 23 points are the most in a Blazer debut since Josh Hart, who also scored 23 on February 12th of last season against the Knicks. Grant is the ninth player in Blazer history to record 23 or more points in their Blazer debut.
A LITTLE HART: Among all NBA players 6'7" and under, Josh Hart ranked fifth in rebounds per game during the 2021-22 season (7.2) while Nassir Little ranked 10th (5.6).
LAST FIVE GAMES
Trail Blazers 108, Suns 106 -- November 4, 2022 -- Footprint Arena -- Game #8 (6-2, 3-0 Away)
Portland defeated Phoenix by a final score of 108-106 on Friday night … The Suns' only two losses of the regular season so far have both been against the Trail Blazers … Jerami Grant posted a game- and season-high 30 points (10-17 FG, 1-3 3-PT, 9-11 FT) to go along with two rebounds, five assists and one block in 39 minutes, also marking his highest scoring half as a Blazer with 18 points in the first half … Jusuf Nurkic logged 14 points (6-13 FG, 2-2 3-PT), eight rebounds, three assists and one steal in 25 minutes … Justice Winslow tallied 12 points (6-12 FG, 0-1 3-PT), nine rebounds, nine assists and two steals in 32 minutes in his first start of the season … Devin Booker led the Suns with 25 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 38 minutes … Deandre Ayton put up 24 points and eight rebounds in 30 minutes for Phoenix.
Grizzlies 111, Trail Blazers 106 -- November 2, 2022 -- Moda Center -- Game #7 (5-2, 3-2 Home)
The Trail Blazers fell to the Grizzlies by a final score of 111-106 on Wednesday night ... Anfernee Simons finished with a game-high 31 points to go along with three rebounds and eight assists in 40 minutes ... Jusuf Nurkic tallied 23 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and one steal in 35 minutes ... Jerami Grant recorded 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and one block in 38 minutes ... Desmond Bane led Memphis with 29 points to go along with eight rebounds, five assists and one steal.
Trail Blazers 125, Rockets 111 -- October 28, 2022 -- Moda Center -- Game #6 (5-1, 3-1 Home)
Portland defeated Houston by a final score of 125-111 ... Anfernee Simons logged a game-high 30 points (10-20 FG, 7-15 3-PT, 3-3 FT) to go along with five rebounds, seven assists, one steal and one block in 38 minutes ... Jusuf Nurkic finished with 27 points (12-17 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 2-2 FT), 15 rebounds, one assist, one steal and three blocks in 32 minutes ... Jerami Grant posted 15 points (5-11 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 3-4 FT), five rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block in 35 minutes ... Shaedon Sharpe tallied 14 points (7-12 FG, 0-2 3-PT), one rebound and two assists in 30 minutes in his first NBA start ... Eric Gordon led the Rockets with 18 points to go along with three rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 33 minutes ... Alperen Sengun added 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in 25 minutes for Houston.
Heat 119, Trail Blazers 98 -- October 26, 2022 -- Moda Center -- Game #5 (4-1, 2-1 Home)
The Trail Blazers fell to the Heat by a final score of 119-98 in the team's first loss of the regular season … Damian Lillard tallied a game-high 22 points (6-13 FG, 4-11 3 PT, 6-6 FT) to go along with two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 26 minutes … Shaedon Sharpe posted 15 points (5-12 FG, 2-5 3-PT, 3-5 FT), eight rebounds and one steal in 21 minutes … Anfernee Simons finished with 14 points (5-12 FG, 3-8 3-PT, 1-1 FT) and two rebounds in 30 minutes … Bam Adebayo led Miami with 18 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and one steal in 28 minutes.
Trail Blazers 135, Nuggets 110 -- October 24, 2022 -- Moda Center -- Game #4 (4-0, 2-0 Home)
Portland defeated Denver by a final score of 135-110 to start the regular season off 4-0 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season ... Anfernee Simons posted 29 points (11-17 FG, 7-12 3-PT), three rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 36 minutes, setting a new career-high for points in a quarter with 22 in the third ... Damian Lillard finished with a game-high 31 points (10-16 FG, 4-7 3-PT, 7-8 FT) to go along with six rebounds, eight assists and one steal in 35 minutes ... Jerami Grant recorded 21 points (7-13 FG, 1-6 3-PT, 6-7 FT), two rebounds, one assist and one block in 36 minutes ... Jusuf Nurkic tallied 13 points (4-12 FG, 0-1 3-PT, 5-7 FT), 12 rebounds, six assists and one block in 35 minutes ... Portland shot 57.8% from the field and 45.7% from three-point range ... The Trail Blazers outscored the Nuggets 26-13 in fast break points ... Aaron Gordon led Denver with 26 points to go along with six rebounds in 28 minutes.
INJURY REPORT
Josh Hart (right ankle sprain) and Trendon Watford (right hip flexor strain) are PROBABLE while Damian Lillard (right calf strain), Anfernee Simons (left foot inflammation), Gary Payton II (return to competition reconditioning) and Olivier Sarr (right wrist sprain) are OUT for Saturday's game.
As for the Suns, Cam Johnson (right knee), Cameron Payne (left foot soreness), Ish Wainright (personal reasons), Duane Washington Jr. (personal reasons) and Jae Crowder are all OUT.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
All Portland Trail Blazers regular season and preseason games will be broadcast on the Trail Blazers Broadcasting flagship station, Rip City Radio 620 AM. Travis Demers begins his fourth full season providing play-by-play commentary for all home and away games, with Michael Holton adding commentary.
On television, ROOT SPORTS PLUS will air 81 Trail Blazers regular season games featuring Kevin Calabro calling play-by-play, Lamar Hurd providing analysis and Brooke Olzendam reporting from the sideline. Between ROOT SPORTS PLUS, TNT and ESPN, all 82 regular season games will be televised. For all viewing options, visitwww.trailblazers.com/watch.