Roy runs up career-high 50 points as Blazers shade Suns

Los Angeles - Brandon Roy had a night to remember.

Roy poured in a career-high 52 points, including the tie-breaking three-pointer with 61 seconds remaining, as he carried the Portland Trail Blazers to a rousing 124-119 comeback victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Thursday night.

"That was the best game of my career," said Roy, who made 14-of-27 shots, including five three-pointers and 19-of-21 free throws. "A lot of my teammates stepped up tonight, it was a team win."

Roy came into the contest averaging 22.3 points this season, but his sparkling effort was the second highest total of the season, behind the 55 scored by San Antonio's Tony Parker.

"I can't say the basket was big, but my confidence was huge tonight," Roy said. "I just felt every shot I took was going to go in and my teammates kept feeding me.

"It's one of those nights you have to ride out and say coach I want to play, I told him (Nate McMillan) I was feeling good and he said go for it."

McMillan had high praise for his All-Star guard.

"Brandon is just learning how to continue to be one of the best players in the league," he said. "You almost expect him to do this night after night. He knows how to take over a game."

Roy's one-man show allowed the Trail Blazers to snap an 11-game slide against the Suns, dating back to March 12, 2006.

"Phoenix had three days off and they brought it tonight but we outlasted them," he said. "I think we showed a lot to ourselves and to our fans that we're a tough team when we come to play for 48 minutes."

Steve Blake had 22 points with 10 assists for Portland (17-10) while LaMarcus Aldridge scored 16 and Travis Outlaw added all 14 of his points in the second half.

Amare Stoudemire had 23 points, and Matt Barnes added 22 for Phoenix (15-11) which shot a sizzling 56 per cent (41-of-72) from the field but lost its fourth straight road game. Shaquille O'Neal scored 19, while Steve Nash finished with 15 points and 11 assists.

"Brandon really hurt us," Suns coach Terry Porter said. "We just didn't do a good enough job with him. He was being aggressive and going to the basket. We tried some different things but it was just one of those nights where a guy got hot."

O'Neal had 17 points by halftime as the Suns led 66-59 advantage despite 21 by Roy. However, the former NBA Rookie of the Year scored 17 points in the third quarter, including 14 straight in a period ending 26-9 run, putting Portland on top 98-93.

With neither team able to gain separation in the final frame, Roy drilled a three-pointer to give the Blazers the lead for good, 122-119, sending the sellout crowd at the Rose Garden into a frenzy. He added two free throws with 9.8 seconds left to complete the milestone achievement.

"(Roy) took off and he took the game over," Barnes said. "We couldn't stop him tonight. He just didn't miss, it was just one of those nights for him."

Elsewhere: Orlando Magic 90, San Antonio Spurs 79 Jameer Nelson scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half and Orlando welcomed back All-Star centre Dwight Howard by dominating the travel-weary Spurs for their fifth win in the last six games.

"I've been working on the things I need to do to make my team better," Nelson said. "Coach called my number tonight, guys knew I had it going and they found me."

Rashard Lewis scored 15 points and Howard had 14 with 13 rebounds in 33 foul-plagued minutes after sitting out the last two games with a sore left knee. The Southeast Division leaders Orlando (20-6) led by as many as 23 during the game.

Tim Duncan collected 19 points with nine rebounds for San Antonio (15-10) which shot a season-low 37.5 per cent from the floor (30-of-80) one night after dropping a 90-83 road decision to New Orleans. Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Manu Ginobili finished with just 10 points apiece.

"Jameer had a great game," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He hurt us more than anybody on the court, made big shots and got everybody involved. (dpa)

Regions: