Portland 124, Phoenix 119

Roy leads

Blazers

with 52

points Chants of

'MVP!' ring

out for Roy

JASON QUICK

If there has ever been a finer performance at the Rose Garden, somebody find it, because no one who was in attendance Thursday night will ever believe there was a greater game played than that of Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy.

Roy scored 52 points --the second highest in franchise history and the most in Rose Garden history --to lead a 124-119 win over Phoenix, ending an 11-game losing streak to the Suns (15-11).

"This might be the top performance I've seen," said Blazers point guard Steve Blake. "I'm not sure what else (compares). Nothing comes to mind."

Roy made 14 of 27 shots from the field, including 5 of 7 from three-point range, and 19 of 21 free throws. He added six assists, five rebounds and a block.

"This is the best game I've played," Roy said. "I've never scored (that many), even in little league."

In typical Roy fashion, he saved his best for crunch time. Roy scored 14 in the fourth, including the Blazers' final five points, which broke a 119-119 tie. His three-pointer with 1:01 left broke the tie, and after he rebounded a Steve Nash miss, he added two game-clinching free throws with 9.8 seconds left.

"You almost expect him to do this night after night," coach Nate McMillan said. "He knows how to take over a game. He's playing with a very nice rhythm right now."

It was a performance that literally had fans taking off their shirts in celebration. Others simply chanted "MVP! MVP!" when he attempted free throws. Phoenix coach Terry Porter, who had his jersey retired by the Blazers two nights earlier, was left feeling much like his players --defenseless.

"I thought our guys did a good job of contesting his shots," Porter said. "He just got hot."

Roy fell two points shy of tying the franchise record of 54 points set by Damon Stoudamire at New Orleans in 2005. The previous arena record was 43 by the Blazers' Zach Randolph against Memphis in 2007. The 52 points is the most scored in the NBA in regulation this season.

Over his last five games, Roy is averaging 34.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists while shooting 52.3 percent from the field (58 of 111).

The Blazers (17-10) needed every bit of Roy's heroics, and more, to overcome a Suns team that seemingly couldn't miss all night. The Blazers got extra help in the form of Travis Outlaw, who scored all 14 of his points in the second half and Greg Oden, who grabbed two key offensive rebounds in the final minute.

Blake also was instrumental, finishing with 22 points, 10 assists and zero turnovers and LaMarcus Aldridge had a key bank shot with 1:25 left that beat the shot clock and tied the score at 119-119.

"It wasn't just Brandon tonight," McMillan said. "I thought we got a good effort from everyone who played. Travis made some big shots in the fourth quarter and Steve Blake did a great job throughout the game, not only shooting the ball but his play making."

But the story was Roy, who torched any Suns defender that tried to stop him. Last week, the Suns traded their best perimeter defender, Raja Bell, who last season held Roy to a 13.3 scoring average in three games. With Bell in Charlotte, that left the man he was traded for --Jason Richardson --to match up with Roy. That didn't work, so Porter assigned Matt Barnes. That didn't make a difference either.

"He's an All-Star, and he took the game over," Barnes said. "We couldn't stop him tonight. My hand was in his face on a lot of those --he just didn't miss."

Notes:

McMillan promoted Ike Diogu to backup power forward, demoting the struggling Channing Frye, who had made three of his past 14 shots. Diogu entered Thursday having played 36 minutes in 11 games, with no stint longer than seven minutes.

Jason Quick: 503-221-4372;

jasonquick@news.oregonian.com

Read his "Behind the Beat" blog at

blog.oregonlive.com/

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