Trail Blazers take on the Suns on 5-game slide

Updated Dec. 14, 2021 3:02 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Phoenix Suns (21-5, second in the Western Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (11-16, 10th in the Western Conference)

Portland, Oregon; Tuesday, 10 p.m. EST

LINE: Trail Blazers -2.5; over/under is 218

BOTTOM LINE: Portland enters the matchup against Phoenix as losers of five in a row.

The Trail Blazers are 6-12 in Western Conference games. Portland is 7-12 against opponents over .500.

The Suns have gone 14-5 against Western Conference opponents. Phoenix is 1-1 in games decided by less than 4 points.

The teams square off for the third time this season. The Suns won 119-109 in the last meeting on Nov. 11. Frank Kaminsky led the Suns with 31 points, and Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 28 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Lillard is averaging 21.6 points and 7.7 assists for the Trail Blazers. Jusuf Nurkic is averaging 16.7 points over the last 10 games for Portland.

Devin Booker averages 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Suns, scoring 23.2 points while shooting 40.3% from beyond the arc. Chris Paul is averaging 14.4 points, 9.2 assists and 1.5 steals over the past 10 games for Phoenix.

LAST 10 GAMES: Trail Blazers: 2-8, averaging 105.5 points, 41.3 rebounds, 22.4 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.5 points per game.

Suns: 8-2, averaging 109.4 points, 42.7 rebounds, 24.4 assists, 8.4 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.2 points.

INJURIES: Trail Blazers: Greg Brown III: out (illness), Cody Zeller: out (quad), CJ McCollum: out (lung).

Suns: Abdel Nader: out (rest), Dario Saric: out (knee), Frank Kaminsky: out (knee), Devin Booker: out (hamstring), Deandre Ayton: out (illness), Jalen Smith: out (illness).

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