Portland Trail Blazers (28-30) beat Phoenix Suns (33-25) 92-77 on the road on Sunday, February 22 in a low-scoring game: just 169 combined points between the two teams.
The game, quarter by quarter
The teams matched each other with 20 points apiece in the first quarter, leaving it level at 20. The Trail Blazers moved in front with a 27-20 second quarter, carrying a 7-point lead into halftime.
The Trail Blazers won the third 24-17 to create some separation, taking a 14-point lead into the fourth. The Trail Blazers took the fourth 21-20; the Trail Blazers finished the job for a 92-77 regulation win.
What decided it
The Trail Blazers got more from their shots, finishing at 53.1% effective field-goal shooting compared with 41.8% for the Suns. The Trail Blazers grabbed 31.7% of their own misses, while the Suns recovered 27.7%. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Suns did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 20.3 against 22.4. The Trail Blazers made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 94 possessions per team, the Trail Blazers produced 98.1 points per 100 possessions to 82.1 for the Suns.
The Suns' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 36-17.
Who made the difference
Donovan Clingan was the game's biggest individual force for POR: 23 pts, 13 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk on 9-13 shooting. His Game Score of 21.9 led everyone. His team was +19 with him on the floor.
Amir Coffey led the Suns with 8 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast on 3-7 shooting, good for a 10.3 Game Score.
Toumani Camara (12 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast) and Donovan Clingan (23 pts, 13 reb, 3 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
By our Win Meter this was an upset: The Trail Blazers entered with about a 26% chance.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, Phoenix Suns lead 4-2.
The Trail Blazers are now 28-30, and the Suns are 33-25. The Trail Blazers last five before this game: W-W-L-W-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.