Halftime Report
Only two more quarters stand between the Suns and the victory they were favored to collect coming into this evening. Sitting on a score of 57-51, they have looked like the better team, but there’s still two more quarters to play.
If the Suns keep playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 14-11 in no time. On the other hand, the Trail Blazers will have to make due with an 8-18 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Portland Trail Blazers @ Phoenix Suns
Current Records: Portland 8-17, Phoenix 13-11
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
- Where: Footprint Center — Phoenix, Arizona
- TV: Arizona Family Sports Network
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $8.00
What to Know
The Suns will be playing the full four quarters on Sunday, but they’re expected to have things wrapped up well before that. They will be home for the holidays to greet the Portland Trail Blazers at 8:00 p.m. ET at Footprint Center. The Suns will be strutting in after a win while the Trail Blazers will be stumbling in from a loss.
The Suns are headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They walked away with a 134-126 victory over the Jazz on Friday. The win was a breath of fresh air for Phoenix as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
The Suns got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Devin Booker out in front who posted 34 points along with eight assists. With that strong performance, Booker is now averaging an impressive 25.3 points per game. Kevin Durant was another key player, earning 30 points along with eight assists.
The Suns were working as a unit and finished the game with 36 assists. That’s the most assists they’ve posted since back in March.
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers’ recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their fifth straight defeat. They fell just short of the Spurs by a score of 118-116. The loss hurts even more since Portland was up 105-88 with 8:29 left in the fourth.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Anfernee Simons, who posted 30 points in addition to seven assists and two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Jerami Grant, who went 8 for 10 from beyond the arc en route to 32 points.
Phoenix’s win ended a six-game drought on the road and puts them at 13-11. As for Portland, their loss dropped their record down to 8-17.
Keep an eye on the arc in Sunday’s matchup: The Suns have been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 38.3% of their threes per game. It’s a different story for the Trail Blazers, though, as they’ve only made 33.5% of their threes this season. Given the Suns’ sizable advantage in that area, the Trail Blazers will need to find a way to close that gap.
The Suns didn’t have too much breathing room in their contest against the Trail Blazers in their previous meeting back in November, but they still walked away with a 103-97 victory. Do the Suns have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Trail Blazers turn the tables on them? We’ll have the answer soon enough.
Odds
Phoenix is a big 10.5-point favorite against Portland, according to the latest NBA odds.
The line has drifted a bit towards the Suns, as the game opened with the Suns as a 9-point favorite.
The over/under is 230.5 points.
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Series History
Phoenix has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Portland.
- Nov 02, 2024 – Phoenix 103 vs. Portland 97
- Jan 14, 2024 – Phoenix 127 vs. Portland 116
- Jan 01, 2024 – Phoenix 109 vs. Portland 88
- Dec 19, 2023 – Portland 109 vs. Phoenix 104
- Nov 21, 2023 – Phoenix 120 vs. Portland 107
- Nov 05, 2022 – Phoenix 102 vs. Portland 82
- Nov 04, 2022 – Portland 108 vs. Phoenix 106
- Oct 21, 2022 – Portland 113 vs. Phoenix 111
- Mar 02, 2022 – Phoenix 120 vs. Portland 90
- Dec 14, 2021 – Phoenix 111 vs. Portland 107
