The Phoenix Suns have faced teams from Los Angeles in four of their first five games this season. Despite this challenging schedule, they have emerged victorious in four of those five matchups. Now, they look to continue their strong start against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
The Suns went 2-0 against the Clippers and split their series with the Lakers. Their other victory came in a home win against the Dallas Mavericks.
In Thursday’s 125-119 road victory over the Clippers, Devin Booker scored a season-high 40 points and is averaging 36.5 points over the last two games. Royce O’Neale also made a significant contribution off the bench, scoring a career-best 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range.
Coach Budenholzer and many observers were surprised by O’Neale’s performance, as it was his best ever in his eighth NBA season.
Bradley Beal (elbow) is listed as questionable for the Suns on Saturday. He has played in just three of the first five games, and Budenholzer mentioned Beal took some shots during Friday’s light workout.
The Trail Blazers, on the other hand, have lost four of their six games this season and are starting a four-game road trip. They were routed 137-114 at home by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, marking their 13th straight loss to the Thunder.
Portland trailed by 17 points in the first quarter but rallied to tie the score at 68 by halftime. However, they were outscored 38-17 in the third quarter, committing 12 turnovers that led to 19 points for Oklahoma City.
Jerami Grant led Portland with 17 points, while Deandre Ayton and Rayan Rupert added 14 points each. Ayton, with only five rebounds, failed to record a double-double for the first time this season. Anfernee Simons had an off night, shooting just 1-of-8 and scoring nine points. Despite landing on his elbow, Coach Billups said it doesn’t seem to be a serious issue.
Second-year forward Toumani Camara scored a season-high 13 points and has reached double digits four times this season. He made three 3-pointers and is shooting 52.6 percent (10 of 19) from behind the arc in the early going. As a rookie, he shot just 33.7 percent from behind the arc.
The Suns took three of four games from the Trail Blazers last season and will look to continue their dominance in Saturday’s matchup.
