Lillard, McCollum help Blazers hold off Suns
PHOENIX - Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined for 65 points and the Portland Trail Blazers avoided blowing a big lead for the second straight night by beating the Phoenix Suns 110-101 on Sunday.
Lillard scored 39 points and McCollum had 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, including seven during a late 13-5 run to put the game away. The Blazers (29-36) blew a 21-point lead at home to the Washington Wizards in a 125-124 loss on Saturday and gave back an 18-point lead Sunday before regrouping for the win.
Portland has won five of its past six games and moved within 1 1/2 games of the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Devin Booker had 28 points and Eric Bledsoe added 19 for the Suns (22-45), who led twice in the fourth quarter but couldn't stop Portland's backcourt duo. Portland won for only the fifth time in its last 24 visits to Talking Stick Arena.
Down by as many as 18 in the third quarter, the Suns roared back and took a 93-92 lead in a Tyler Ulis 16-foot jumper with 6:37 left.
But McCollum gave the Blazers the lead for good on a three-point play with 4:00 left, and Allen Crabbe capped a 10-2 run with a 3-pointer to make it 104-97 Portland with 2:16 to go.
The Blazers shot 64 percent from the field in the first half and their backcourt led the way.
Lillard had 28 points in the first 20 minutes and McCollum added 11. The two made 14 of 25 shots from the field.
The Suns took an early 15-10 lead on a Booker jumper with 6:47 left in the first quarter. But the Blazers outscored the Suns 23-3 the rest of the way, with Lillard scoring 13 of the 23 points, including two free throws with 0.8 of a second left to put Portland up 33-18.
Phoenix responded early in the second pulled within six points at 46-40 on a Marquese Chriss 3-pointer with 4:06 to go. But the Blazers closed the first half strong, and Lillard restored the lead to 16 at the half with a fastbreak layin with 27.4 seconds left.
But the Blazers cooled off in the third quarter, missing 17 of 23 shots. Down by as many as 18, the Suns came all the way back and tied the game at 77 on a Bledsoe 3-pointer with 2:57 left. Portland led 82-79 after three but it let the Suns back in the game.
NOTES: Suns C Tyson Chandler, who hasn't played in the last nine games, was not with the team for personal reasons, and C Alex Len was out with a hip contusion. ... G Devin Booker's buzzer-beater in Dallas against the Mavericks gave the Suns four wins at the buzzer among their 22 victories this season. Phoenix is the only NBA team with four wins at the buzzer in one regular season in the last 20 years, when such data started being recorded. ... Booker's 36-point game against the Mavericks was his 10th 30-point game this season. G Eric Bledsoe has 12 30-point games, making them the first Phoenix duo with at least 10 30-point games in the same season since Tom Chambers (25) and Kevin Johnson (15) did it in 1989-90. Bledsoe has five of his 20 career 30-point games against Portland.