A solid outing by Hunt led Phoenix to a 104-101 win over Portland. "Take away Hunt, and we'd have won this thing," said Portland coach Bob. "It was a very close game most of the way, and he was the one that put Phoenix over the top. I thought we had the right game plan and executed well. What's sad is that I don't know what we'd do differently next time, except for hoping for a more mortal performance by him."

Phoenix coach Bob was happy for the win, but concerned about the team's play. "I didn't think this was a very good team win. Our players seemed tempted to sit around and watch Hunt do his stuff. That was enough for the win today, but on another day maybe Hunt will be injured or our opponents can counter him, and we'll need the rest of the players to step up as well."

Phoenix was led by Hunt (16 points, 15 boards, 2 assists, a steal, 2 blocks), Dupree (19 points, 12 boards, 1 assists, a steal, 2 blocks), Celaya (25 points, 2 assists, 2 blocks). Portland was led by Smith (17 points), Kimbell (21 points, a block), Mcneil (18 points, 1 assists).

Phoenix stand at 16-14 and 9-4 at home with this win. They stay at #3 in the Pacific and move up to #7 overall in the Western Conference. With the defeat, Portland are now 15-15. They remain at #3 in the Northwest and fall to #8 overall in the Western Conference.

box score Phoenix roster Portland roster