Portland Trail Blazers @ Phoenix Suns
Monday, January 1, 2024 at 9:00 PM ET
Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ | Game ID: 22300456
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
PHX 20 35 31 23 109POR 29 18 14 27 88
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Suns, without Durant, rout Trail Blazers 109-88 for 4th straight win
PHOENIX -- — Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers 109-88 on Monday night for their fourth consecutive victory.
With Kevin Durant sidelined by right hamstring tightness, the Suns had seven players score in double figures. Jusuf Nurkic , playing against his former team, had 18 points. Chimezie Metu , starting for Durant, scored 14, and Grayson Allen and reserve Eric Gordon each had 12.
“He changes everything,” Nurkic said of Beal, who returned Friday from an ankle injury. “It's simple. We depend on him. When he's out there, it doesn't matter what he does, just being out there makes a big difference for our team.”
Phoenix star Devin Booker was held to 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting, but he contributed eight rebounds and six assists. Bol Bol helped make up for Durant's absence with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Durant scored 31 points in Sunday’s victory over Orlando, but coach Frank Vogel said he tweaked the hamstring late in the game.
“He was able to finish the game, but it was enough to keep him out,” Vogel said before Monday’s win. “He’s day to day.”
The Suns allowed their lowest point total of the season.
“I want to credit our bench,” Vogel said. “We were getting a lot of stops and getting out on the break, and things are a lot easier when you're not taking the ball out of your own basket and not fouling. Our bench tonight gets the game ball.”
Scoot Henderson led the Trail Blazers with 17 points. Jerami Grant scored 15 points, and Malcolm Brogdon and Jabari Walker each had 10.
Portland led 29-20 after the first quarter but was outscored 66-32 in the next two periods. Phoenix led by as many as 26 points in the game.
“I thought we had a really good first quarter,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. “Then we had eight turnovers in the (second) quarter. We just didn't have enough.”
Portland played without former Phoenix center Deandre Ayton , who was sidelined by right knee tendinitis. Toumani Camara also missed the game with right knee soreness.
The Blazers haven’t won on the road since Nov. 30 against Cleveland. That was their last win before a seven-game losing streak that ended when they beat the Suns 109-104 in Portland on Dec. 19.
Nurkic and Allen were acquired by Phoenix in a three-way deal with Portland and Milwaukee in September that included Ayton going from the Suns to the Trail Blazers.
POR KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXBB B. Beal
BB B. Bol
CM C. Metu
DB D. Booker
DE D. Eubanks
EG E. Gordon
GA G. Allen
JG J. Goodwin
JN J. Nurkić
JO J. Okogie
KB K. Bates-Diop
NU Nurkic
UA U. Azubuike
YW Y. Watanabe
PORIB I. Badji
IW I. Wainright
JG J. Grant
JW J. Walker
KM K. Murray
MB M. Brogdon
MB M. Brown
MT M. Thybulle
SH S. Henderson
SM S. Mays
SS S. Sharpe
PHX/POR the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur