Suns Surge Past Ayton, Blazers for Fourth-Straight Win

PHOENIX -- It was a notable night for a variety of reasons in the Phoenix Suns' 120-107 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Suns stretched their season-long winning streak to four games to improve to 8-6 on the season. Portland dropped their eighth consecutive game to fall to 3-11 on the year.

It was also a big night for Phoenix to keep their in-season tournament hopes alive, too. They'll need a win on Friday at Memphis and some other luck to push through to the knockout stages.

Tonight marked the official return of Deandre Ayton to the Valley after being moved to Portland via trade. The team gave him a brief tribute video before he tallied 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.

His center counterpart in Jusuf Nurkic notched a double-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for Phoenix.

Kevin Durant elevated himself into 11th all-time in NBA scoring in the first quarter. He finished with a game-high 31 points (his fourth straight game going over 30) with four rebounds, nine assists and one block.

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Devin Booker finished the night with 28 points on 9-20 shooting to go along with three rebounds and six assists. Nassir Little again gave Phoenix good minutes coming off the bench with 13 points and five assists.

The Suns got off to a strong start in the first quarter, pacing the Trail Blazers 34-21 and making 14-18 shots. 10 of their points came off the fastbreak while Portland made just 9-25 shots to begin the game.

The Trail Blazers woke up in the second quarter and eventually tied the game after a 18-6 run, though the Suns regained their lead to remain ahead 56-51 heading into halftime.

It didn't take long for the Suns to capture another double digit lead to start the new half thanks to the massive talent discrepancy with their stars on the floor, clinging on to a 94-82 lead heading into the final period of play.

Despite a few early baskets from Portland, the Suns were able to remain in control until the final buzzer sounded, concluding their fourth game in a row where the team has scored 120 points. They led by as much as 18 on the night.

The Suns return tomorrow night to battle the Golden State Warriors.