The Portland Trail Blazers held off the Phoenix Suns in overtime, securing a 121-119 victory at the Moda Center on Monday night.

Deandre Ayton gave Portland a 113-111 lead with a short jumper in the lane at the 2:22 mark, and the Blazers sealed the win with strong free-throw shooting. Portland converted 8 of 10 free throws (80%) down the stretch, with Ayton hitting five straight to keep the team ahead.

Booker, who boasts an 89% free-throw shooting percentage, made his first two shots but missed the third, which would have tied the game. Ayton grabbed the rebound off Booker’s miss and sank a free throw to extend the lead. Jerami Grant then secured the win by grabbing an offensive rebound that allowed the clock to run out.

Phoenix managed to force overtime with a clutch three-pointer from Royce O’Neale with just 2.1 seconds left, tying the game at 107-107.

Ayton reflected on the competitive nature of the game, saying, “We’ve been on this streak of playing well, of playing together. It felt like a playoff game tonight. I like how we were together down the stretch – it was real basketball tonight.”

Ayton finished with a dominant performance, recording 25 points and 20 rebounds. Deni Avdija contributed 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting (66.7%). For the Suns, Booker led all scorers with 34 points.

Portland had a strong start, leading by as many as 14 points early in the game and finishing with a nine-point advantage on fastbreak points. Despite the win, Portland (21-29) remains 4.5 games behind Phoenix in the race for the final play-in spot as the season heads into the All-Star break.