After the previous victory against the Sacramento Kings, Monty Williams asked for a greater effort from his bench, and Frank Kaminsky had to take it personally because last night he harvested his new career scoring record (31 points) to beat the Portland Trail Blazers by a final score of 109 to 119.
The Wisconsin-trained player is taking advantage of the injured DeAndre Ayton’s absence by adding his strongest game in Arizona. He has scored at least 10 points in four of the last five games, and against the Blazers he is 12 of 18 in shooting from the field; to which he added 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block.
It’s just the mindset. Get out there and play as hard as you can. Be ready for anything. You never know when opportunities are going to come to you, so you have to make the most of them, “Kaminsky acknowledged to ESPN.
Veteran Chris Paul added 21 points and 7 assists, and also the entire starting five would contribute double-digit scoring: JaVale McGee (14 points and 8 rebounds); Devin Booker and Jae Crowder (12); and Mikal Bridges (10 points and 5 assists).
“He just knows how to play this,” CP3 noted of Kaminsky.
This is the sixth consecutive victory for the Phoenix Suns to rank third in the Western Conference with a 7-3 record. On the other hand, the Oregonians still do not know the victory as visitors (0-6) and have lost in five of the last seven days.
In the Blazers, their star Damian Lillard is finding himself and last night he led his attack with 28 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists; followed by forward Norman Powell with 23 points.
Newcomer Chauncey Billups said his team played tough, but they made too many unforced errors. «In this league you know that it is very difficult to win on the road. And if you don’t do it from the neck up, it’s going to get very complicated, “he said.
(Cover photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)