Suns 120, Trail Blazers 106
PHOENIX - Phoenix guard Goran Dragic had 12 of his 31 points in the second quarter and the Suns used 10 3-pointers to rally from a 16-point deficit in the second quarter to snap Portland's 11-game winning streak with a 120-106 victory on Wednesday.
Forward Channing Frye added a season-high 25 points for the Suns, who have handed the Blazers two of their three losses this season in the three meetings between the teams. Portland's only win came in a 90-89 squeaker in Portland on Nov. 13, when the Suns missed three potential game-winning shots in the final five seconds.
Forwards Markeiff and Marcus Morris combined for 34 points, seven rebounds and six assists off the bench for Phoenix.
Phoenix trailed 39-23 two minutes into the second quarter but led by as many as 22 in the fourth, starting with a season-best 40 points in the second quarter which put them in the lead for good. The Suns (8-7) have won three of their past four games and have made at least eight 3-pointers in seven straight games.
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and guard Damian Lillard added 16 for Portland (13-2), who had lost 14 straight regular season games dating back to last year when Phoenix won the season-opener here 114-92 on Oct. 30. Since then the Blazers had gone 13-1 overall and 6-0 on the road.
Aldridge had 11 points in the first quarter, and the Blazers finished it off with a steal and slam by forward Nicolas Batum with 19.9 seconds left to take a 32-21. Dragic had seven points, but the rest of the Suns a combined 11 of 16 shots from the floor in the first 12 minutes.
Portland pushed its lead to 37-21 on forward Joel Freeland's nine-footer with 10:37 left in the half. But that's when the Suns exploded offensively, scoring 40 points in the final 10:17 of the second quarter. Markieff Morris capped a 19-6 Phoenix run with a layup off a Dragic feed to cut the Portland lead to 47-45 with 5:14 left.
Guard Gerald Green's second 3-pointer in a 31-second span gave the Suns their first lead at 53-52 lead with 3:15 left, and the Suns stretched the lead to five on a Marcus Morris 3-pointer 33.9 seconds before halftime. Dragic had 12 of his 19 first-half points and Frye had 11 of his 15 in Phoenix's highest-scoring second quarter of the season.
The Suns took over control of the game with a 10-0 run to open the third quarter, with Dragic's 3-pointer stretching the Phoenix lead 71-58 with 9:08 left.
NOTES: The Blazers came in shooting 41.8 percent from 3-point range, third in the NBA behind Golden State (.440) and Miami (.430). "We have five excellent 3-point shooters (G Damian Lillard, G Wesley Matthews, F Nicolas Batum, F Dorell Wright and G Mo Williams) shooting all of our 3-pointers," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "It's not far-reaching that each one of those guys can shoot 40 percent or better for the season." ... Suns G Gerald Green is averaging 15 points per game and 40 percent from 3-point range -- career highs for the seven-year pro. Injuries to G Eric Bledsoe and G Goran Dragic have forced him to make 10 starts. "Gerald's been great. He's definitely a team guy," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said. "That's kind of our special guy who can light it up quickly." ... When the Suns beat Portland 104-91 here on opening night (Oct. 30), the Blazers had lost 14 in a row dating back to last season. Since then the Blazers were 13-1 with 11 straight wins. ... Phoenix had made at least eight 3-pointers in each of the past six games, its longest stretch since March 2011.
