Booker and Durant give Phoenix the lead at halftime

The Phoenix Suns (13-11) host the Portland Trail Blazers (8-17) at the Footprint Center on Sunday at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Arizona’s Family (3TV) in Phoenix.

The game is the first of three home games this week for Phoenix, which was coming off a 134-126 win at Utah on Friday after Kevin Durant returned from a sprained ankle. Sunday’s game, along with Friday’s Jazz game, is one of two games added to round out the Suns’ schedule after Phoenix was eliminated from the NBA’s regular-season tournament.

Portland is coming off a 118-116 loss to the Spurs and has lost five straight games. Forward Jerami Grant led the Blazers with 32 points, while guard Anfernee Simons added 30.

Check back here at azcentral.com for live updates during Sunday’s game.

Durant, Booker and Jones bring Suns to a six-point lead at halftime

Devin Booker, Tyus Jones and Durant combined for more than half of Phoenix’s halftime point and gave the Suns a 57-51 halftime lead.

Booker and Durant each have 12 points while Jones has 11 as the Suns are without Bradley Beal, who missed his second straight game because of swelling in his right knee.

Jones is 5 of 5 from the field, Booker has missed just two of his five field goal attempts, but Durant is 6 of 14 as five of his misses came from 3, where he was 0 of 5.

Phoenix had a lead of as many as 13 and never trailed. The Suns are still shooting 50% from the field.

Portland got within two points, 46-44, with less than four minutes left in the first half, but Phoenix responded with an 11-2 run to take a 57-46 lead with 1:11 left in the half .

The Suns start quickly and lead 11 after one

Phoenix shot 50% from the field, shot 4 of 9 from 3 and opened a 33-21 lead over Portland after one game.

Devin Booker and Grayson Allen each made two 3-pointers in the first quarter. Booker leads all scorers with eight, while Kevin Durant, Tyus Jones and Allen each have six.

Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, a Hall of Fame point guard as a player, said before the game that Jones was “tailor-made” for the Suns because of his ability to run the show and make shots. He added that Jones has “humility” at this point and understands who his teammates are.

Translation? Jones recognizes that he plays with Bradley Beal, Durant and Booker and knows they drive the offense, although his role is important too.

The Suns limited Portland to 36% shooting in the first quarter. The Blazers only made three of their 14 attempts from three.

The red-hot O’Neale starts for Beal, Ayton is out

Royce O’Neale has had the hot hand of 3 lately.

Averaging 18.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 19 of 31 shooting from 3 in his last four games, O’Neale started for Beal Friday in Utah and finished the game with 17 points, going 5 of 9 from 3.

O’Neale gives the Suns more size at small forward. He is a solid defender and has good chemistry with Kevin Durant when it comes to spacing him. Durant assisted on three of O’Neale’s five 3s in Friday’s win.

In addition to O’Neale, Devin Booker, Tyus Jones, Jusuf Nurkic and Durant start for Phoenix. Portland starts Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara, Jerami Grant and rookie Donovan Clingan at center.

Former Suns star Deandre Ayton is out due to illness.

Beal is out for Sunday’s game

Bradley Beal was ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers after suffering a late scratch with right knee swelling before Friday’s road win against the Utah Jazz.

The 31-year-old Beal appeared in 15 of Phoenix’s 23 games in his second season with the Suns. He averages 17.8 points while shooting 49.3% from the field and hitting 36% of his three-pointers.

More:What we learned from the Phoenix Suns’ shootout win over the Utah Jazz in the return of Kevin Durant

More:How the Phoenix Suns could sign Jimmy Butler in a Bradley Beal trade

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Booker and Durant give Phoenix the lead at halftime

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