No Damian Lillard, no Anfernee Simons? No problem ! The Blazers sign the feat of the evening by winning 108-106 in Phoenix, the leader of the Western Conference, who was aiming for a 6th victory in a row. A feat achieved on a buzzer beater signed Jerami Grant, one of the summer recruits. A more than contentious basket, since Grant tramples before shooting, which punctuates a match of high quality, with a suffocating “money time”!
We thus rush into the 4th quarter. The Suns managed to equalize after being up to 15 points behind in the 3rd quarter. It’s yet another remake of the Hare and the Turtle, and it’s Damion Lee, hidden in the corners, who hurts a lot (97-97). There are four minutes left to play, and let’s go for a crossover. On the one hand, Blazers who insist on Jusuf Nurkic. On the other side of the Suns who want to run. Devin Booker finally restores the advantage to the Suns on a difficult fadeaway, but Nurkic, near the circle, answers him (101-101).
There’s a minute left to play, and she’s going to be gorgeous. Booker misses his shot but Ayton takes over Nurkic, and puts the cover (103-101). Behind, the Bosnian air-conditioned the room with a… 3-points! Portland back in front 104-103 with 35 seconds remaining. What does Booker do? He responds with 3-points! Phoenix leads by two points (106-104). Time-out Chauncey Billups. The ball for Jerami Grant, who misses. But it’s still Nurkic who puts the tap (106-106). Less than 24 seconds to play. The Suns are obviously going to the end of the possession but… Mikal Bridges works! There’s a second left.
Throw-in in the Suns camp. Justise Winslow has the ball. On the opposite, as for a back-door, he finds Grant. The fadeaway is clean, the walk too, and the ball bursts the net at the sound of the buzzer. Grant shows no emotion at first. Then all his teammates jump on him. Portland wins 108-106 in Phoenix, and joins the Suns in first place in the Western Conference.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— From address to 3-dots. The Suns had decided to force the Blazers to play wide. Logical since the Lillard-Simons pair was not there. Except that Portland responded to the Suns’ address from afar with a nice 10 out of 23 (44%), signed by six different players. We have in mind that of Nurkic in the last minute. Opposite, the address also with a 14 out of 34 from afar, with a 6 out of 12 from the Booker-Lee duo.
— Cam Johnson’s injury. As Deandre Ayton made his comeback, the Suns lost Cam Johnson in the first quarter. The Suns winger injured himself on a defensive retreat, and it was his right knee that turned. He left the room on crutches, and he will take exams this Saturday.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jusuf Nurkic. It is one of the most solid pivots of this beginning of the season with nearly 15 points and 12 rebounds on average. Last night, he gave a good fight to Deandre Ayton. A real undermining job by causing fouls, and he had the last laugh with this 3-pointer and this tap in the last thirty seconds.
✅ Jerami Grant. Damian Lillard had asked for help in attack, and his managers went to get him his teammate at the Olympics. Grant is only the 3rd option in attack, but last night he held the house in the second half with 18 points, including this “game winner” at the last second. Often caught in pairs, he was able to make passes at the right tempo, and we will also remember his super defense on Devin Booker.
✅ Deandre Ayton. After a week in the infirmary, very satisfactory recovery for Ayton. His duel with Nurkic was epic, and it’s always a treat to see two “big men” get away with it. At 10 out of 14 on shots, he wasted almost nothing.
⛔ ✅ Chris Paul. Admittedly, he distributes 11 assists but the leader of the Suns has not yet returned to his season. He no longer brings the same danger in attack, with very few shots. Cam Payne absent, Phoenix needs danger on post 1. Especially on a night when there is neither Lillard nor
THE FOLLOWING
The two teams meet again tonight, still in Phoenix
