Trail Blazers-Suns Preview

By JUSTIN EINHORN
Posted Apr 15 2012 11:09PM

The Phoenix Suns hope a day off to recover mentally and physically - as well as a return home - can kickstart one final push for the playoffs.

The Suns are coming off probably their worst performance of an otherwise solid run since the All-Star break, but their aging veterans could be back near full strength Monday night for a matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Phoenix (31-29) is ninth in the Western Conference and trails Houston by one game for the eighth and final playoff spot. To even be in the postseason chase at this point might not have been expected of a team which had the West's third-worst record two months ago at 12-19.

"Here we are and we are not out of it," said Steve Nash, whose Suns are 17-9 since All-Star weekend. "We have got to drive on it and enjoy it and see what we can do."

Five of Phoenix's final six games are at US Airways Center, but Portland (28-33) is its only remaining opponent which doesn't have a winning record. The Suns have won 10 of 12 at home, where they will remain this week to face West-leading Oklahoma City along with two other teams ahead of them in the conference - the Clippers and Denver.

"There are no guarantees when we are going home to play, but it is a tough schedule," coach Alvin Gentry said. "There are games at home that we expect to win regardless of who we play."

Phoenix closed a four-game road trip with a 105-91 loss in San Antonio on Saturday night, falling behind by 22 after the first quarter and never threatening.

Nash left 5:47 into the game with the Suns trailing 21-4 and did not return. The two-time MVP said he irritated a hip injury Wednesday but played through it Friday in a win at Houston.

"It was a situation where, one, I wasn't going to be effective and two, I didn't want to miss the last six games," he said. "Lucky to get out, I think, when I did."

Grant Hill played less than eight minutes, a night after playing 25 against the Rockets in his return following a nine-game absence for a knee problem.

Both the 39-year-old Hill and 38-year-old Nash hope a day off will help them play a full game Monday, when Phoenix tries to push the Blazers a step closer to mathematical elimination from the playoff chase.

Portland has dropped two straight and four of five, including Monday's 104-103 defeat in Sacramento on a jumper with 3.4 seconds to play.

Wes Matthews had given the Blazers the lead with 5.8 seconds left on his career-high eighth 3-pointer, including seven in the second half. He scored 31 points to lead Portland, which shot 52.3 percent but fell to 8-1 when making at least half of its field-goal attempts.

Defense has been the bigger problem for the Blazers, who have surrendered an average of 104.2 points on 48.9 percent shooting over their last five games.

The Blazers are 3-11 on the road since Feb. 15 and have lost 12 of 14 in Phoenix.

Each team has been blown out on the other's home court in two meetings this season. Nash was 7 for 7 from the field and had 17 points in a 102-77 victory over the Blazers on Jan. 6, then scored five on 2-of-7 shooting three weeks later in a 109-71 defeat at Portland.

Suns beat Trail Blazers 125-107

Posted Apr 17 2012 2:39AM

PHOENIX (AP) Down to the final games of the season, the Phoenix Suns are playing with a greater sense of urgency.

In securing their fourth victory in their last six games, Marcin Gortat had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Steve Nash had 13 assists to pace the Suns to a 125-107 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

The Suns had six players score in double figures, built a 20-point lead by the end of the third quarter and cruised to the win.

"The sense of urgency has been here since the All-Star game," said Nash, who is 14 assists from passing Oscar Robertson for fifth on the all-time list. "I think we're playing that way every game, and have felt that through the last few weeks."

Channing Frye added 19 points for Phoenix and Jared Dudley had 18.

With their win and a victory by Denver over Houston, the Suns and Rockets have identical records. At this point, the Suns would get the tiebreaker and move into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Phoenix gets the edge over Houston by virtue of a season-series tie and a better conference record. Phoenix has a 22-21 record against Western Conference teams and the Rockets have a 21-23 mark.

"Offensively, we're playing a high level," Dudley said. "When we play unselfish and move the ball like we did and shoot the ball from 3, it's hard to beat us."

J. J. Hickson and Jamal Crawford both had 22 points for Portland, which dropped its third straight and fifth of six.

"We could never get over the hump," Crawford said. "That's a team playing for playoff position and they've been one of the best teams since the All-Star break. I think they'll continue to treat every game like a playoff game and they did that again (Monday night)."

After straining his right hip last week against Memphis, Nash played less than 6 minutes in the Suns' loss to San Antonio last Saturday.

After a day off, Nash started against the Blazers and he had eight assists in the first quarter as the Suns took a nine-point lead.

Gortat scored 10 points in the first quarter, had 15 at halftime and finished with his 29th double-double of the season..

When Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry rested Nash late in the opening half, the Suns were ahead by nine points. When he returned the Suns were up by five with 5:39 left in the half and they went on a 19-8 run. The Suns led 66-53 at halftime.

"There's no question we're stronger when Steve is healthy," Gentry said. "He felt good (Monday night) and easily created the flow we needed."

Paced by two 3-pointers from Shannon Brown, and four points each from Frye and Markieff Morris, Phoenix broke the game open late in the third quarter.

When Michael Redd made two free throws and Morris followed with a dunk, the Suns led 101-80 less than a minute into the final quarter.

With the loss, Portland dropped to 8-22 on the road and only Sacramento, with five road wins, has fewer.

"I can't remember if we ever had three or four consecutive stops," Portland coach Kaleb Canales said. "They shot a season-high 60 percent from the field, and we can't allow that. Our defense needs and will continue to get better."

NOTES: The Suns have four of their remaining five games at home. ... Phoenix improved to 7-3 in April, tied for the most wins of any Western Conference team this month. ... The Blazers surrendered a season-high 125 points, beating the 124 they allowed to Washington on Feb. 14. ... The 51 field goals were also a season-high allowed by the Blazers, beating the 48 allowed twice before.

Notebook: Suns 125, Blazers 107

Posted Tuesday April 17, 2012 1:15AM

By Mike Tulumello, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: What seemed nearly impossible for the Phoenix Suns now might actually happen.

The surging Suns, once a lowly 12-19, now are in playoff position after a 125-107 home win Monday night over the undermanned Portland Trail Blazers.

By winning, the Suns (32-29) pulled into the No. 8 and final playoff spot, just ahead of the Houston Rockets (also 32-29). The Suns have the tie-breaker with the Rockets based on a better conference record.

"We gotta have a better record than Houston, and we'll be fine," said Jared Dudley.

Well, it's a bit more complicated.

The Suns also are only a half-game ahead of the No. 10 Utah Jazz, winners in triple overtime over the Dallas Mavericks Monday.

Then too, the Suns now are two games behind the No. 6 Denver Nuggets and 1.5 games behind No. 7 Dallas.

The Trail Blazers, by contrast, struggled to compete.

In addition to missing star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, out for the season with a hip injury, the Blazers sat out starting point guard Raymond Felton so they could better evaluate Jonny Flynn and Nolan Smith.

Also, small forward Nicolas Batum sat out while Luke Babbitt started and played 39 minutes. Babbitt scored 18.

The Suns rested Grant Hill, who has been rusty after a nine-game absence and whose right knee (which underwent an operation on March 30) is sore.

The Suns have five games left, all against winning teams. But only one game, at Utah on Tuesday April 24, is on the road.

The Suns got 20 points and 10 boards from Marcin Gortat. Dudley hit 8-for-10 for 18 points. Shannon Brown hit 7-for-10 for 16 points.

Steve Nash had six points and 13 assists while the Suns were able to limit his time to 27 minutes.

J.J. Hickson and Jamal Crawford scored 22 each for the Blazers (28-34).

QUOTABLE: "Sebastian is playing as good as any back-up point guard in the league right now."
-- Suns coach Alvin Gentry on Sebastian Telfair, who has emerged as a major surprise for the Suns.

THE STAT: The Suns shot 60 a season-high percent to prevent any drama.

TURNING POINT: Before tipoff, when the Trail Blazers decided to use this game as more of an evaluation for younger players.

QUOTABLE II: "They've been one of the best teams since the All Star break. I think they'll continue to treat every game like a playoff game, and they did that again tonight."
-- The Blazers' Crawford on the rising Suns.

HOT: Channing Frye emerged from his slumber to hit 8-for-11 for 19 points for the Suns. His backup, Markieff Morris, hit 5-for-9 for 14 points to turn the Suns' frequent weakness -- the power forward spot -- into a strength.

NOT: The Suns' Michael Redd had an off night, rare for him the past month, shooting 1-for-7. He did make all six of his free throws.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Telfair has helped turn the Suns' bench from a weakness to a strength. In his last 16 games, he's averaged 8.8 points. On the Suns' recent 4-game road trip, he averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals. On Monday, he had 12 points,

ROOKIE WATCH: The Blazers' Smith had a nice game. The reserve point guard hit 6-for-14 for 14 points plus five assists and zero turnovers.

NOTABLE: The Suns entered the All Star break six games under .500. The last time a Western Conference team entered the break six games or more below .500 and still made the playoffs: the 1996-97 Suns, who started 0-13 and finished 41-41.

The current Suns are 18-9 since the break. They were 14-20 beforehand.

UP NEXT: For the Trail Blazers, Wednesday vs. Jazz, Saturday @ Memphis and Monday @ San Antonio. For the Suns, Wednesday vs. Oklahoma City, Thursday vs. Los Angeles Clippers and Saturday vs. Denver.

• Trail Blazers: Williams, Williams
• Suns: --

• Trail Blazers: --
• Suns: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #34 Kevin Cutler, #33 Zach Zarba
• Attendance: 15322
• Duration: 2:08