The Portland Trail Blazers looked lifeless before halftime, but found just enough energy to get the job done, eking out a 111-110 win on the road against a shorthanded Phoenix Suns.
It didn’t come easy.
An overturned goaltending call, which would have given the Blazers a four-point cushion with less than a minute remaining gave Phoenix life, and on the next possession, Kelly Oubre Jr. converted a four-point play to pull the Suns ahead 110-108.
That could have been all she wrote.
But at the other end, Damian Lillard answered with his own and-1 at the rim, giving Portland the edge and allowing a collective exhale across Rip City.