By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
STATS Writer
Earlier this week, the Phoenix Suns were unsuccessful in going for their longest winning streak of the season at the expense of the Portland Trail Blazers. This time, they're trying to avoid matching their longest slide, and their bench could provide the difference.
The Suns attempt to gain a measure of revenge as they host the Trail Blazers on Friday night.
Phoenix (11-11) has lost twice to Portland (11-11) already this season, but both were on the road.
The Suns committed 19 turnovers Tuesday in the most recent matchup, a 106-99 defeat that ended a three-game winning streak that matched their longest of 2010-11.
Phoenix failed to rebound from that performance the following night, losing 104-98 in overtime to Memphis. The Suns got 58 points from their bench, which forced the extra session by helping them outscore the Grizzlies 28-14 in the fourth quarter.
"It was a tough loss," said forward Grant Hill, who finished with 10 points. "The fourth quarter was unbelievable. The second unit was awesome, but I'm still in shock at what happened."
Now, the Suns are left hoping they can avoid matching their season-high three-game slide that occurred on the road from Nov. 17-20.
Phoenix has won six of eight at home, averaging 112.0 points in the victories.
The Suns have also dominated the Trail Blazers at US Airways Center, winning 18 of the last 22 meetings. Two victories came in the first round of the 2010 playoffs, including a 107-88 series-clinching win as the reserves totaled 55 points.
The Suns' bench could be key again Friday, as it leads the Western Conference with 38.2 points per game and has averaged 42.3 over the last seven games.
"It's tough trying to play 10 guys, but one of the advantages of having 10 guys that are pretty good players is that you can try to manufacture some kind of lineup that can help get you back into the game," coach Alvin Gentry told the team's official website. "We just got to keep searching and see what we find."
Guard Steve Nash may be looking to improve upon his performance from Wednesday as he scored 11 points with seven assists and eight turnovers.
The two-time MVP had 24 points and 15 assists against the Blazers the previous night.
Portland is looking to show improvement on the road as it opens a four-game trip with stops in San Antonio and Dallas, the current owners of the two best records in the West.
The Trail Blazers went 0-4 on their last trip and have dropped seven of eight as the visitor. They haven't endured five consecutive road defeats since Feb. 4-25, 2009.
Portland, however, swept its three-game homestand since its last road jaunt, capping the stretch with an impressive 97-83 win over Southeast Division-leading Orlando on Thursday.
Having Andre Miller back for this visit to Phoenix should help. The guard had 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds Thursday after serving a one-game suspension against the Suns for "excessive and unnecessary contact" with Blake Griffin during Sunday's 100-91 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
"My motivation was to keep my emotions intact - come back normal, like it was any other game," said Miller, who has averaged 22.8 points and 8.0 assists in his last five visits to Phoenix.
Updated December 10, 2010
