NBA Game Summary - Portland at Phoenix
Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Eric Bledsoe scored a career-high 33 points with a full line and the Phoenix Suns nearly squandered a 25-point lead before holding off the Portland Trail Blazers 118-113 on Wednesday.
Isaiah Thomas shot 11-for-16 and contributed 27 points off the bench and Goran Dragic netted 16 for Phoenix, which held homecourt for the seventh straight game. Bledsoe added 10 rebounds and six assists.
P.J. Tucker only scored three points in just under 34 minutes but played a crucial role in the victory, posting 13 rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Nicolas Batum paced Portland with 27 points -- 10 of those coming in the fourth -- and Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews scored 22 apiece in the setback.
"We did a great job fighting back and giving ourselves a chance down the stretch," Lillard said. "They made some big plays at the end of the game and they did what they needed to do to pull it out."
Portland was without star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who left Monday's win over Sacramento with a hand injury. Aldridge did not make the trip to Phoenix.
The Suns led comfortably for most of the game but stumbled in the fourth quarter. A 15-point lead vanished in the frame, and Batum's 3-pointer at 4:05 gave Portland its first lead since the opening quarter.
Batum hit a deep 3-ball two minutes later to increase Portland's lead to five when Dragic hit a corner 3 and Bledsoe converted a three-point play to put Phoenix back in front.
Thomas Robinson and Markieff Morris then traded runners and Bledsoe made four free throws in the final 10.9 seconds to secure the win.
"We just kept our composure and finished the game strong," Bledsoe said.
Portland led 29-26 with 3:23 to play in the first quarter. The Suns scored the final 14 points of the period.
Marcus Morris started the flurry with a jumper, and Thomas scored the next seven Phoenix points. Morris then hit a 3 and Thomas beat the buzzer with a short jumper, giving the Suns a 40-29 lead.
The margin reached 25 points midway through the second and it was 23 with 2 1/2 minutes before halftime when four Lillard free throws highlighted a 9-0 run that had Portland within 14 at intermission.
The spread remained in double figures until Portland's 10-0 run early in the fourth. Dorell Wright had seven of the 10 points on a 3-pointer and four free throws.