Suns increase havoc defensively to rattle Blazers

The Phoenix Suns had to hunker down and not only match a team playing their own style but outdo them too to get a win on Tuesday, and they did over the depleted Portland Trail Blazers 127-110.

Portland brought lots of on-ball pressure across the floor defensively while crashing the glass offensively through a trademark brand of energy and physicality. Jerami Grant (illness) was a late additional absence for a Blazers team already without Jrue Holiday (right calf soreness), Scoot Henderson (left hamstring tear), Matisse Thybulle (left thumb tear) and Blake Wesley (right foot fracture). But even with that, they have a commitment to their identity.

The Suns were up for it all night and would have been in a more controlling position entering the second half if not for an 8-0 Portland run at the end of the first that made it only a three-point Suns lead. They came out of halftime clearly ready to notch up everything and it rocked Portland, a 12-0 opening spurt to extend the advantage to 15.

By the midway mark of the third quarter, the Suns had a season-high 15 steals and all 15 were from the starters, including Ryan Dunn’s career-high five. The mark for the team ended at 19, which is the most by any team in the NBA this season, per Stathead. Phoenix was not tidy itself in the first half, giving up chunks of offensive rebounds and turning it over itself, but the Suns’ level-raising effort in the third quarter on defense would prove to be the difference.

The lead extended to 20 at the end of the third quarter, and unlike Sunday’s loss, Portland wouldn’t come close to getting within single digits the rest of the way.

It was a tremendous response in that frame because Portland’s two fulcrums on offense, Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe, were living in the paint to keep the Blazers within reach despite an expectedly terrible shooting night from 3 (10-for-41, 24%).

That rim pressure got worse when Dunn picked up his third foul just three minutes into the second quarter, which had Ott turn to rookie Rasheer Fleming for the second-round pick’s first legitimate rotation minutes in the NBA for six minutes in the second quarter. While it’s the overeager energy you’d expect with a mistake or two in there, his length and pressure on defense were hard not to notice, and he also grabbed two defensive rebounds before tossing two kick-ahead passes that led to transition baskets.

With Dunn back in to start the second half, Phoenix really upped the havoc with active hands and deflections aplenty that included five of those steals in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Dunn was a +23 in 27 minutes.

For the Suns offensively, it was another impressive and seemingly implausible balanced attack without Grayson Allen (right quad contusion) and Jalen Green (right hamstring strain). Devin Booker was the leading scorer with 19 points, Mark Williams added 15, Dillon Brooks contributed 12 and then it was nine apiece for Royce O’Neale and Dunn.

If you’re doing the math from there, that means that the remaining 63 points all came from the bench. Collin Gillespie once more front-lined that charge with 19 points and six assists and Oso Ighodaro provided an additional 14 points. You’d guess this was the byproduct of a great shooting night with lots of ball movement but Phoenix was just 14-of-40 from 3 (35%) and produced 24 assists to 18 turnovers.

Sharpe shot 12-of-24 for the Blazers with 29 points while Avdija was 7-of-17 for 19 points. The two combined for only three of the Blazers’ 20 turnovers that were more of a teamwide effort. Arizona product Caleb Love got his first real run of the year as a two-way product and quickly got up to 13 points in the first half before finishing with 17. He was the only other Blazer in double figures.

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