PORTLAND, Ore. – Wesley Matthews scored 24 points, Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 apiece and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied to beat Phoenix 106-99 on Tuesday night, snapping the Suns' three-game winning streak.
The Suns led by as many as nine points early in the fourth quarter but the Blazers, known for late-game meltdowns of late, tied it at 89 on Nicolas Batum's layup and went in front on Aldridge's two free throws with 3:38 left. Matthews made two more foul shots to extend Portland's lead.
Channing Frye fouled out for the Suns when he was called for an offensive foul on a dunk, and Phoenix lost another chance to draw closer when Steve Nash missed an off-balance jumper.
Batum's 3-pointer with 1:38 left put Portland ahead 96-89 and the Blazers led the rest of the way.
Nash had 24 points and 15 assists for Phoenix.
The Blazers made 32 of 33 free-throw attempts while playing without guard Andre Miller, who was serving a one-game suspension imposed by the league for making "excessive and unnecessary contact" with Blake Griffin in the fourth quarter of the Blazers' 100-91 victory against the Clippers on Sunday.
The suspension snapped Miller's consecutive games streak at 632, which had been the longest among active players in the NBA. Miller had not missed a game since Jan. 24, 2003.
The Blazers' starting lineup lacked a true point guard with Miller out. Portland started Batum, who had been serving as a reserve, but he collected two quick fouls. He finished with 12 points.
The Suns were coming off a 125-108 victory over Washington. Nash was perfect from the field with 20 points and a season-high 17 assists.
Portland led early but Nash's fallback jumper put the Suns up 21-20 with 3:15 left in the first quarter. The lead was short-lived as Roy hit a 20-foot jumper on the other end and the Blazers led 29-23 at the end of one.
Rudy Fernandez hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Portland a 37-30 lead. The Blazers extended the margin to as many as 12 points but the Suns closed to 51-47 at the break.
Phoenix scored the first six points of the second half, capped by Jason Richardson's layup, to take a 53-51 lead. Nash had eight assist in the third quarter alone and the Suns extended the lead to 75-69.
The Blazers, who lost to the Suns in the first round of the playoffs last season, defeated Phoenix in the season opener, 106-92 at the Rose Garden.
NOTES: Blazers C Joel Przybilla will miss Friday's game at Phoenix to attend the funeral of his wife's grandmother. ... Former Oregon men's basketball coach Ernie Kent attended the game. ... Blazers G Patty Mills had six of his seven assists in the first half. ... Nash was averaging 18.2 points and 10.4 assists going into the game.
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