Miller Leads Short-Handed Blazers To 105-100 Victory Over Suns In Game One

Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) – Andre Miller scored 31 points — 15 in the final eight minutes — to tie a playoff career-high, and the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers became the only road team to win their opening game with a 105-100 victory over the Phoenix Suns.Miller, who is taking a bulk of the ball-handling duties in the absence of Brandon Roy, added eight assists and three steals for the Blazers, who are looking to snap a four-series losing streak that dates back to 2000. Roy will miss at least this series with a torn meniscus in his right knee, and that news came well after Portland lost centers Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla earlier in the season.

LaMarcus Aldridge provided a good low-post presence in scoring 22 points, while Nicolas Batum added 18 in the win. Jerryd Bayless came off the bench to contribute 18 points to help the Blazers grab home-court advantage, and Marcus Camby grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds.

Steve Nash had 25 points and nine assists to lead the Suns, although he missed a potential game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds. Phoenix, who came into the game winning 14 of 16 and its last eight home games, shot only 41.8 percent overall from the field in the loss.

After missing the playoffs last season, Phoenix won 54 games this season and was largely viewed as a threat to unseat the Lakers as Western Conference champs. Instead of holding serve at home on Sunday, the Suns became the lone top-4 seed to lose Game 1 of their first round series.

Amare Stoudemire scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out late, and Leandro Barbosa had 13 points in defeat.