Game Recap: Book breaks record, Suns fall short in overtime, 121-119

The Phoenix Suns lost a tough one in Portland.

The Phoenix Suns fell short on a historic night in franchise history.

It was an uphill climb after a slow start, but the Suns fought their way back and made it a game. Ultimately, they fell short despite having many chances to close it out, but they were unable to grab multiple rebounds and hit open threes down the stretch.

Devin Booker broke the Suns’ all-time scoring record with a three, but the Suns could not secure the win.

Shoutout to Royce O’Neale for hitting a clutch three to send it to overtime. Bradley Beal followed it up with a block to close out regulation.

In overtime, Deandre Ayton iced the game, drilling five of six free throws as the Blazers played the “fouling game” after giving up that O’Neale three at the end of regulation. It almost backfired after they fouled Devin Booker on a three-point attempt. He made the first two. The second one was off.

And that was that.

Top Performers

• Devin Booker — 34 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 9-18 FG
• Kevin Durant — 27 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 10-21 FG
• Bradley Beal — 25 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 8-17 FG
• Toumani Camara — 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 threes, 6-8 FG
• Deni Avdija — 24 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 8-12 FG
• Deandre Ayton — 25 points, 20 rebounds, 2 assists, 9-22 FG

Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

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First Half

The Suns gave up a pair of threes to Jerami Grant and Toumani Camara to open the game. Portland followed that up with a Deni steal and score and reserve layup in back-to-back possessions to give Portland a 10-2 lead.

The Suns’ energy level was flat as the Blazers built their lead up to 12 at 17-5 with just under 8 minutes remaining.

Devin Booker scored five straight points to cut the lead down to nine. Booker and Durant woke up a bit to bring the Suns within four. Booker scored 12 points to make him just 11 away from breaking the record.

Phoenix closed out strong on a 6-0 run to make it a tie game after one at 31 a piece.

They went on an 11-3 run overall to close the gap.

Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

The Suns hit 7 of their first 10 threes after a big Grayson Allen triple to take the lead.

A massive Suns swing in momentum gave them a 40-36 lead after another Allen three. There was a nice milestone from Allen in the process.

The Suns’ offense then stalled for a bit, unable to score for four-plus minutes. Despite that, they held on to a one-point lead after Devin Booker drilled three free throws.

Phoenix then went on an 11-0 run to make it a 51-42 game.

At the half, Phoenix led 55-49. Booker and Avdija led all scorers with 17 points at the break.

Second Half

The Suns started the third a little slow out of the gate, allowing Portland to hang around. The bigger storyline was what 28-year-old Devin Booker accomplished.

Devin Booker drilled a three to take the throne as the all-time leading scorer in Phoenix Suns franchise history.

Here is the shot that did it.

His 15,667 points put him past Walter Davis at the top. The Suns’ broadcast aired an awesome tribute video in honor of the milestone.

Portland went on a 7-0 run to tie it up at 75 a piece. Kevin Durant hit a jumper to restore order for a bit and put Phoenix back up by two.

The Blazers scored eight straight after a Camara three to re-take the lead, 83-77. The wheels started to fall off, with Portland stealing all of the momentum along with an 8-point lead.

Grayson Allen drilled a three with the shot clock ticking down to cut the lead down to three, 90-87, with just under 9 minutes remaining.

It went back and forth to open the 4th quarter, with each team trading buckets. A breakaway dunk from Bradley Beal tied things up at 94 with just over 6:30 remaining.

Kevin Durant made some big plays down the stretch, including a massive block on Ayton at the rim and some clutch shots. After a pair of Durant free throws went in, Simons drilled a long two to give Portland a one-point lead with less than 45 seconds left.

Some late-game heroics from Royce O’Neale and Bradley Beal sent the game to overtime.

In the extra session, the chaos ensued with the teams trading buckets. Phoenix couldn’t secure two Portland misses in the clutch and Deandre Ayton iced the game at the line.

Devin Booker missed the third of three free throws after an inexcusable foul by Portland at the end of OT. Tough one to lose.

Up Next?

The Suns travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder on Wednesday night.