Trail Blazers 87, Suns 81
LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and nine rebounds and took over down the stretch as Portland won in Phoenix for just the third time in the last 19 visits.
Robin Lopez contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who remain 2 1/2 games behind third-place Houston in the Western Conference race. Chris Kaman collected 11 rebounds and Damian Lillard scored 11 points.
Marcus Morris had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who fell 3 1/2 games behind eighth-place Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot in the West. Markieff Morris had 15 points and nine rebounds, Eric Bledsoe had 13 points and seven assists and Gerald Green scored 12 points.
The Trail Blazers trailed by six at the start of the fourth quarter and caught the Suns at 74 on Lillard’s basket with 4:43 remaining before moving ahead by three on Aldridge’s jumper with 3:25 left. Marcus Morris hit a jumper to make it a one-point game before Aldridge knocked down four consecutive jumpers to give Portland a nine-point advantage and the Trail Blazers held on.
Portland held an 11-point lead in the second quarter before the Suns used a 15-4 burst to tie it, and the contest was knotted at 47 entering the break. Phoenix scored nine consecutive points in the third to take a six-point lead and possessed a 66-60 lead entering the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Phoenix shot just 36.8 percent from the field. … Lillard was just 4-of-15 from the field. … Suns PG Brandon Knight (ankle) missed his eight consecutive contest.