Trail Blazers 87 - 114 Suns
Final
  for this game

Gortat leads way as Suns torch Blazers

Nov 22, 2012 - 5:38 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Marcin Gortat scored 22 points and pulled down seven rebounds, helping the Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 114-87.

Markieff Morris added 19 points and seven boards for the Suns, who snapped a three-game skid. Jermaine O'Neal and Goran Dragic ended with 17 and 15 points, respectively.

Morris and Shannon Brown, who had 10 points, replaced Jared Dudley and Luis Scola in the starting lineup. Dudley and Scola each had four points off the bench.

"I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself, so I just came out and played hard," Morris said. "Just do what I do and not try to over-think the game; just play hard."

Damian Lillard had 24 points to pace the Blazers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum tallied 13 points apiece.

The Suns led by as many as eight in the first quarter and took a 29-25 lead into the second.

Holding a 36-34 edge with 8:12 left until half, Phoenix went on a 9-0 run to create some distance. Gortat capped the spurt with a layup, making it a 45-34 contest with 5:43 remaining.

Morris and Gortat made back-to-back shots later in the frame to give the Suns a 55-40 margin. It was 57-44 at the break.

Phoenix went on a 10-2 run to start the second half, as Gortat's jumper made it 67-46. Dragic scored 12 points in the third quarter to help the Suns take an 89-71 edge into the fourth.

Phoenix's lead reached 29 in the final stanza.

"They just competed harder than us," Lillard said. "They made shots. They just outplayed us and played harder. They made more plays than us. They fought on the boards and just outplayed us overall."

Game Notes

Portland has lost four straight at Phoenix ... The Suns shot 59.7 percent from the floor and went 7-of-17 from beyond the arc ... LaMarcus Aldridge and Meyers Leonard each had 12 points for the Blazers ... Portland center J.J. Hickson missed Wednesday's game with a sore left shoulder.






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