BLAZERS GRADED: Portland 108, Phoenix 87

Thursday, February 05, 2015

Andrew R Tonry, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Sheeeeed. pic.twitter.com/pRXuKTJWi7
— Bruce Ely (@bruceely) February 6, 2015

Against the Suns, Thursday, as Rasheed Wallace watched, the Blazers scored their first blowout in nearly a month as well as their first win over a playoff seeded Western Conference since December.

They did it with an enormous fourth quarter.

Entering the final period, Portland led by a single point. Then they went on a tear, ripping of 42 points to Phoenix's 22.

In that span the Blazers found their shooting touch. Prior to the fourth quarter, Portland were a miserable 3-of-25 from beyond the arc. In the final quarter, though, they drilled 5-of-6.

Portland blasted the Suns in the paint as well, netting a season-high 56 points down low.

For a moment, though, the Blazers wavered. After leading by as many as 19 in the first half, Phoenix rallied back and regained the lead.

But when the fourth quarter began, the Blazers blew the doors off.

Even though the Suns were disjointed and, at times, their own worst enemies, it was a victory--and a margin--that the Blazers very much needed, especially as they will embark Friday to Texas for a gnarly back-to-back, playing Dallas on Saturday and Houston on Sunday.

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LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE: B+
Aldridge piled up 19 points and 13 boards, his 220th double-double as a Blazer. It moved him into the top spot in Trail Blazers history, ahead of Sidney Wicks.

NICOLAS BATUM: B+
Scoring 20 points, grabbing four boards and dishing out seven assists, Batum had his best performance in weeks. He even made two three's! (OK, but he missed four more.) Still, it's worth mentioning: Now all three of Batum's best scoring games of the season have come against the Suns.

ROBIN LOPEZ: A
Did what he was supposed to do against the under-sized, rebound-challenged Phoenix front line: controlled the paint. Lopez had 11 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. (Unfortunately, one of those blocks sent Suns center Alex Len to the ground where he badly twisted an ankle. Len did not return.) To be sure: Every Blazer but Thomas Robinson so relieved to have Lopez back.

DAMIAN LILLARD: D
Over the last three games Damian Lillard has missed 17-straight three-point attempts. Thursday, he was 0-for-5 from deep, and kept relatively in check across the board.

WESLEY MATTHEWS: B-
Matthews was only a little better from distance (2-of-8), and mostly crummy from the floor (5-of-15). But he did muster a season-high tying eight boards, all of which came in the first half.

CJ MCCOLLUM: B
McCollum had a great run in the first half, where he scored 10 points in hist first 11 minutes. His second shift, however, wasn't quite so productive. Still, he finished with 12 points and four boards.

KILLER TWEET: