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 "Our goals are beyond just making the playoffs," Portland coach
Terry Stotts said after his team's 109-86 drubbing of the Phoenix
Suns at the Moda Center. "With the magic number at one, it was
inevitable. It's nice to clinch a spot, but we still have a few
games to go that are important to us."
Guard Damian Lillard scored 19 points and handed out seven assists
as the Trail Blazers (48-25) swept to their fourth consecutive
victory. Forward LaMarcus Aldridge added 17 points and seven
rebounds, and forward Nicolas Batum and guard Arron Afflalo each had
16 points for Portland.
Guards Gerald Green and T.J. Warren came off the bench to score 13
points apiece for the Suns, who lost their fourth consecutive game.
Green sparked a run to get the Suns, who trailed by 16 points late
in the second quarter, to within 55-49 at halftime. However,
Portland outscored Phoenix 37-16 in the third quarter to blow things
open.
"We let them back into the game in the second quarter," Lillard
said. "We came out and did what we needed to do to win after
halftime.
"We cranked up our defense. We really got after them. We pressured
the ball and got steals. We moved the ball well offensively. We got
good looks and we shot well. It was a great quarter of basketball."
The Blazers scored the first seven points of the second half to move
back in front 62-49. Aldridge's dunk made it 77-55 with 6:40 left in
the third quarter. The difference was 90-61 with 2:55 remaining in
the quarter, and the Blazers took a 92-65 advantage into the final
period.
One minute into the fourth quarter, the Blazers' bulge was 96-65.
Portland shot 51.2 percent from the field, knocking down 12 of 27
attempts (44.4 percent) from 3-point range.
"You can't always have nights like that," Stotts said. "But when the
ball is moving and you're making shots, it's fun to watch and it's
fun to play like that."
The Suns (38-37) looked like a team just playing out the season.
They are struggling to keep alive their dwindling playoff hopes, as
they fell 4 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Oklahoma City Thunder
in the Western Conference.
Phoenix made 43.7 percent of its field-goal attempts, including just
three of 16 tries (18.8 percent) from 3-point range.
"(The Blazers) are a good team, and they shot the ball well, and if
you don't get stops, you can't beat them," Phoenix coach Jeff
Hornacek said. "It's not like we weren't trying, but we just weren't
doing it very well, I guess."
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Portland spotted Phoenix a 15-8 lead, then ran off a 13-3 spurt for
a 21-18 advantage. The Blazers took a 31-22 edge into the second
quarter.
The Blazers increased the margin to 53-37 with three minutes to go
in the half, but the Suns closed with a rush, outscoring Portland
12-2 the rest of the way to go into intermission trailing by only
six. Soon after, the outcome was decided as the Suns fell to 6-10 in
the second of back-to-back games.
"No excuses," said Phoenix forward Marcus Morris, who scored 11
points. "We're not the only team that plays back-to-backs. Got to
give (the Blazers) a lot of credit. They were able to run away from
us and win. They're a good team."
NOTES: Portland's magic number to clinch the Northwest Division
championship is two (combined Blazers wins or Thunder defeats). ...
The Blazers advanced to the playoffs in consecutive years for the
first time since 2009-10 and 2010-11. ... Portland's Terry Stotts
recorded his 250th victory as an NBA head coach. ... The Blazers are
30-7 at home this season. ... The Blazers claimed the season series
with the Suns 3-1. ... Phoenix was without G Brandon Knight, who
aggravated an ankle injury in Sunday's 109-97 loss to Oklahoma City.
Knight missed the previous eight games with the injury. ... The Suns
are 4 1/2 games behind Oklahoma City in the battle for the eighth
and final playoff berth in the West. "We're not mathematically out
of it," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said. "You can never give up.
Even when you're out of it, you have to play as hard as you can. If
we don't get into the playoffs, we can build and get a couple of our
young guys ready for next season."
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