Trail Blazers at Suns
The Phoenix Suns are proving to not be such an easy mark for teams hoping to check off another win on their way up the standings. The young Suns will try to disappoint another team going for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
Phoenix is next-to-last in the West and is more interested in building for the future than going for every win, but that is not stopping the players from knocking off the likes of Charlotte, Oklahoma City, Boston and Dallas in the last six games. The Mavericks, who sit 10th in the West - just behind the Trail Blazers - thought they had the Suns handled Saturday until budding star Devin Booker took over and scored 25 of his 36 points in the second half, including the game-winning jumper. Portland knows all about game-winning jumpers after being on the wrong end of a controversial one in a 125-124 overtime loss to the Washington Wizards on Saturday that snapped a four-game winning streak. The Trail Blazers squandered a 21-point halftime lead but still looked like they would pull off the win when Washington's Markieff Morris appeared to step out of bounds before hoisting up the final shot, but officials did not see the mistake and could not review the play, leaving Portland two games behind the eighth-place Denver Nuggets in the West.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, KGW (Portland), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (28-36): Portland's last two games went to overtime and the team is traveling for the second night of a back-to-back Sunday, which begins a five-game road trip. The Trail Blazers are only 11-22 on the road and could use a big trip from shooting guard C.J. McCollum, who found his shooting stroke by going 21-of-39 from the field in two games at home. Portland could also use some consistency from center Jusuf Nurkic, who collected 28 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists and six blocks in a win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday but was limited to seven points and seven boards Saturday.
ABOUT THE SUNS (22-44): Phoenix's starting five Saturday had an average age of 22 years, 64 days - the youngest in team history - and the team is not afraid to go with young players the rest of the way. Booker, 20, is the clear go-to scorer as he reaches the end of his second season and rookies Marquese Chriss, Tyler Ulis and Derrick Jones Jr. along with second-year forward Alan Williams are getting plenty of chances to prove they are pieces of the team's future. "I think it just shows the maturity we have," Williams told the Arizona Republic. "Devin is only 20 years old, but he's wise beyond his years. ... We might have our young mistakes, but for the most part we try to lock in to the details and use our youth as an advantage."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Trail Blazers SF Maurice Harkless is 21-of-33 from the floor over the last four games.
2. Suns C Alex Len sat out Saturday with a hip injury and is day-to-day.
3. The home team took each of the first two meetings this season, with Portland suffering a 118-115 loss in Phoenix on Nov. 2.