The Portland Trail Blazers hosted one of the league's worst teams this season - Phoenix Suns on a Saturday night matchup in the NBA. 18,915 fans at Moda Center were hoping for another victory for their team that would help them come closer to the playoffs. The opponent was perfect since Phoenix is at the bottom of the Western Conference with only 22 wins this season.
Lillard and McCollum led the way once again
It was all Portland on Saturday night at Moda Center. Suns' only lead was early in the first quarter when it was 4-3 for Earl Watson's team.
After that, Portland took the lead and never looked back. They scored 37 points in a huge first quarter. Score at halftime was 63-53 in favor of the home team. Portland was up by as many as 25 points, and final score 130-117 indicates that there was not much defense played in this game. Damian Lillard scored 31 points for the Blazers, he added five rebounds and seven assists. He spoke to the media after the game was over: "We got another win and that's all that matters. All we care about is getting to that playoff spot, and it's good to be in this position right now."
His backcourt partner CJ McCollum finished the game 29 points, five rebounds, and seven assists also. McCollum and Lillard combined for nine out of Portland's 15 made three pointers.
"We know they (Phoenix) are a very competitive team, they have a lot of guys that can score and draw fouls. We moved the ball well and I'm happy that we came out with a win," said McCollum in a postgame interview.
For the Suns, Devin Booker scored 31 points and had seven assists. TJ Warren helped with 25 points and five rebounds.
As a team, Phoenix was only 3-10 from the three point line and had 17 turnovers. This was Phoenix's 11th straight loss. They remain West's second-worst team with only 22 wins so far.
Heading to the playoffs
This was Portland's sixth straight win and they are currently holding the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The way the standings are right now, Portland will probably face the Golden State Warriors in the first round. The Blazers are hoping they can get their injured big man Jusuf Nurkic back before the playoffs start.
