Portland Trail Blazers Team Report - December 6

(Basketball News) - The Portland Trail Blazers were crushed by the Phoenix Suns, 121-99, on Sunday at the Rose Garden.

Zach Randolph posted 24 points and 11 boards for the Trail Blazers, who have dropped back-to-back games on the heels of a two-game win streak. Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Portland coach Maurice Cheeks.

The Suns trailed by one after the opening 12 minutes, but outscored the Trail Blazers 33-20 in the second and they led the rest of the way. Portland held a 45-42 edge midway through the second frame, but the Suns ended the first half on a 20-5 sprint to take a 62-50 margin into the intermission.

The Blazers could not get within single digits the entire second half. They cut the deficit to 64-54 on a bucket by Damon Stoudamire, but Phoenix responded with a 27-14 run and never looked back. Shawn Marion capped off the burst on a basket with just under 3:00 left in the quarter to push his team’s advantage to 91-68. Portland limited the Suns to 22 points in the fourth, but never got back into the game.

Randolph has scored in double-digits in all 16 of Portland’s games this season. He has registered nine double-doubles and leads the team in scoring (21.3 ppg) and rebounding (11.0 rpg).

Portland is off until Thursday when it hosts Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics. It will be the final meeting of the season between the two clubs. On November 10th, the Celtics knocked off the Blazers, 90-88, at the FleetCenter.