Portland @ Phoenix preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 6, 2018 ) Phoenix 86, Portland 108

The Portland Trail Blazers get a chance to come out of a three-game road trip with a winning record when they visit the Phoenix Suns in the finale on Thursday. The Trail Blazers won the opener of the trip at Utah on Monday but could not summon the energy to hang with the Oklahoma City Thunder on the second night of a back-to-back Tuesday.

"I think over the course of the game we were turning the ball over, but especially down the stretch we needed to do a much better job of valuing those possessions, getting up a shot," point guard Damian Lillard told reporters after Tuesday's setback. "I feel like when we were getting shots up, we were getting pretty good looks, having pretty good possessions, but we also had turnovers that turned into points for them and it hurt us." Portland dropped one game behind the Thunder in the battle for third place in the Western Conference with the loss but will play its next two games against teams at the bottom of the standings with the Atlanta Hawks coming in on Saturday after the visit to Phoenix. The Suns own the worst record in the West and are losers of five straight after dropping a 118-91 home decision to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. Star shooting guard Devin Booker was not around to help his team at the end of that loss because he was ejected for an altercation in the third quarter.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBCS Northwest (Portland), FS Arizona (Phoenix)

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (29-20): The backcourt duo of shooting guard CJ McCollum and Lillard tried their best to drag Portland past the Thunder as the two combined for 65 points. "I just tried to be aggressive," McCollum, who finished with 31 points on 11-of-23 shooting, told reporters. "Tried to take advantage of pin downs, flares, read the defense, really take advantage of some movement without the ball. They did a good job of setting screens, (Lillard) did a good job of recognizing some of the movement sets that put me in a position to have an advantage." Lillard finished with 34 points and eight assists and is averaging 30.4 points over the last five contests.

ABOUT THE SUNS (11-38): Booker, who averages 24.2 points, got in a scuffle with Minnesota forward Gorgui Dieng that led to both players being ejected, and Booker had to be restrained from chasing Dieng down the tunnel. "It's just been a couple of games guys have been frustrated," Phoenix forward Kelly Oubre Jr. told reporters. "At the end of the day, we control our own actions and our own destiny. I'm sure he'll be fine. It's just something that happened and as a man, you don't let somebody (elbow) you in the face and not do anything about it or at least address them. I salute him for that." Small forward Josh Jackson picked up some of the slack after Booker left and finished with season highs of 27 points and 10 rebounds.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Suns SF T.J. Warren (ankle) left Tuesday's game and is day-to-day.

2. Trail Blazers C Jusuf Nurkic collected 22 points and 15 rebounds on Tuesday for his fourth double-double in the last five games.

3. Portland took the last eight in the series, including a 108-86 home win on Dec. 6.

PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 116, Suns 109