Devin Booker had a game-high 28 points and Phoenix rode a big fourth quarter to take down the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 116-109 Sunday night.
Despite shooting 1-for-9 from 3-point range, Kevin Durant added 20 for the Suns, who were without Bradley Beal for a second straight game with a sore knee.
Portland has now lost six in a row. All five starters for Portland reached double figures, led by Anfernee Simons with 20 and 17 apiece from Jerami Grant and Deni Avdija.
After trailing the entire first half, and being down 57-51 at halftime, Portland started the second half with an 11-0 run that included a pair of baskets by Shaedon Sharpe to take its first lead.
Phoenix would answer, going ahead 73-71 after back-to-back 3-pointers by Tyus Jones and Booker and carried an 83-79 lead into the fourth.
The fourth was all Phoenix. Jusuf Nurkic sparked a 9-0 Suns run with an old-fashioned three-point play after he was fouled on a hook shot and the Suns led 94-82 at the eight-minute mark. The Suns’ advantage would reach 16, the biggest of the night, on a Jones basket with 5:57 left.
The Blazers would make a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to make the final score look close.
Phoenix controlled play in the first quarter as the Blazers started 2-for-10 from long distance. Phoenix ended the first quarter on an 8-2 run that included a pair of treys from Grayson Allen, and led 33-21 after the first.
Portland surged in the second quarter helped by a foul called on Allen, with officials reviewing the play and saying Allen didn’t give Sharpe room to come down after making a basket. Sharpe made the subsequent free throw as the centerpiece of what would be a 10-0 Portland run that pulled them to 37-34, but Durant stopped the flurry with a mid-range jumper.
Portland got good news with the return of center Robert Williams III, who missed the last seven games while in concussion protocol. He played 17 minutes and finished with eight points.
Deandre Ayton missed the game for Portland with an illness.
–Field Level Media