Riding a five game winning streak, the Phoenix Suns are surging through the Western Conference right now, passing other teams like a Corvette on the highway.
However, they do not have the road all to themselves.
Looking out the passenger side window at the middle lane, one can see the Portland Trail Blazers, speeding beside the Suns having won two of their last three contests. Shaking off a slow start to recently collect victories against the Indiana Pacers and Western Conference favorited Los Angeles Lakers, the Blazers look back on track—just like the Valley Boys.
Tonight though, their lanes merge, forcing one team to continue jetting forward, and another to pump the breaks a tad bit.
These two squads already know each other quite well, even with the 2021-22 season only a few weeks old. They faced off last month, when Portland absolutely buried the Suns, who looked noticeably tired playing their second game in as many days. Veteran shooting guard CJ McCollum stole the show, going 6-11 from beyond the arc. Anfernee Simons also hit four triples off the bench, and Damian Lillard dished out eight assists.
With Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton combining to score just 33 points, the Suns stood no chance. Mikal Bridges came through with another eye-popping efficiency night, going 4-5 from beyond the arc, and Elfrid Payton put together his best performance so far this year with 14 points, six assist, and four rebounds.
But the Suns never led past the game’s opening minutes, with a 105-134 final score finally putting them to rest.
Tonight, they look for revenge though—to keep their foot on the gas, and win their sixth straight contest. Doing so starts with checking off these three boxes.