Damian Lillard Scores 25 in Emotional Portland Return as Trail Blazers Obliterate Suns 124-83

Damian Lillard scored 25 points in his first competitive appearance in nearly 18 months on Wednesday night, steering the Portland Trail Blazers to a 124-83 demolition of the Phoenix Suns at the Moda Center in the season opener for both teams, according to Reuters.

The 41-point margin was the third-largest in a season opener in franchise history, Reuters reported, and it arrived with a roar: Portland opened the game with 21 consecutive points, hit four three-pointers in the first three minutes and 18 seconds, and left Phoenix scoreless until Devin Booker’s two free throws with five minutes and 54 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Suns did not manage a field goal until Oso Ighodaro’s dunk with four minutes and 27 seconds left cut the deficit to 25-6.

Lillard, who tore his left Achilles tendon during the 2025 post-season with the Milwaukee Bucks and spent the whole of last season rehabilitating, finished seven of 12 from the field, six of 10 from beyond the arc and five of five from the line, adding six assists in just under 24 minutes of action, according to the official box score. It was his first appearance in a Portland uniform in more than three and a half years.

The Blazers led 43-12 after the first quarter — a 31-point cushion — and stretched the advantage to 72-39 by half-time. The lead peaked at 52 points before Portland emptied the bench and new head coach Micah Nori pulled his starters early in the final quarter, the Associated Press reported.

“It felt like the old days,” Lillard said afterwards, describing the ovation he received when he was introduced to the home crowd, according to the Associated Press. “You can’t script it better than that.”

A night three years in the making

For Portland supporters, the significance of the evening went far beyond one lopsided result. Lillard spent his first 11 NBA seasons with the Trail Blazers, becoming the face of the franchise and one of the most beloved players in the club’s history before his move to Milwaukee in 2023. After two seasons with the Bucks, he rejoined Portland in the summer of 2025 — then disappeared from view entirely, spending last season in rehabilitation while the Blazers rebuilt without him.

His return coincided with the debut of Ja Morant, the offseason acquisition from the Memphis Grizzlies who registered 14 points, eight assists and three steals in his first game in a Portland shirt, according to Reuters. The Blazers paid a steep price for the former Rookie of the Year, sending Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to Memphis in the deal, the Associated Press noted — a trade that only makes sense if the Lillard-Morant backcourt becomes one of the most dynamic in the Western Conference.

Deni Avdija, who was a game-time decision with a right ankle injury, started and delivered 18 points and 10 rebounds, following up on last season’s surprise breakout campaign in which he averaged 24.2 points per game, the Associated Press reported. Toumani Camara also scored 18 points, Scoot Henderson added 15 off the bench and Donovan Clingan contributed 11, as Portland’s depth overwhelmed a Suns side that looked shell-shocked from the opening tip.

The Trail Blazers shot 47.9 per cent from the field overall and made 19 of 47 three-point attempts (40.4 per cent), according to Reuters, while outrebounding Phoenix 56-39 — including 16 offensive boards, per Sports Illustrated.

Phoenix humiliated on opening night

For the Suns, the night was an embarrassment on almost every measurable front. Devin Booker, beginning his 12th NBA season in Phoenix, led the team with 23 points on efficient 7-of-12 shooting, but his plus-minus of minus-43 told the story of his time on the floor, according to the Arizona Republic. Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green each managed only 10 points as the Suns shot 35.7 per cent from the field and a miserable 6 of 31 (19.4 per cent) from three-point range.

The Suns’ 12 first-quarter points set a new franchise season low, undercutting last season’s worst mark of 19, as noted by Suns beat writer Kellan Olson and reported by Sports Illustrated. They never led at any point in the game and trailed by as many as 52.

Injuries compounded the misery. Ighodaro left the game in the first half clutching his right hip after missing the final pre-season game with hip soreness, guard Luke Kennard was downgraded from questionable to out before tip-off with a left knee tendon issue, and 7-footer Mark Williams was ruled out and is expected to miss multiple months following left shoulder surgery, according to the Arizona Republic. Phoenix now returns home for its own opener against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, 24 October, while the Blazers travel to face the Sacramento Kings on Friday.

Analysis: Why It Matters

The 21-0 start was the message

Scoresheets record the final margin, but the first six minutes told the real story. Four three-pointers in three minutes and 18 seconds, a 21-0 lead before Phoenix could buy a basket — that is not normal opening-night rhythm; that is a team playing with a year’s worth of stored-up emotion. Lillard made back-to-back threes to push the lead to 38-8, and the Moda Center noise, by all accounts, was the kind that reminds players why they endure 18 months of lonely rehabilitation. Home-court advantage is usually worth a few points; on Wednesday it looked like it was worth thirty.

An Achilles comeback at this stage is the real achievement

The box score will show 25 points in 24 minutes, but the subtext is the tendon. A torn Achilles in the mid-thirties has ended the primes of better athletes than most, and the modern game — with its relentless switching, its sprint-heavy transition attacks — is not kind to players who have lost half a step. Lillard shot 6 of 10 from deep and moved, by the accounts of those present, without the hesitation that usually shadows the first months back. It is one game, and load management will define his season, but the mechanics looked like the old ones. That matters more than the scoreline.

The Morant gamble is suddenly legible

Trading Grant and Murray for Morant raised eyebrows in the summer: two productive, cost-controlled players for a brilliant but volatile star with a complicated recent history. On Wednesday the logic flashed into view. With Lillard spacing the floor and Morant attacking downhill, Portland has two shot-creators who can take turns bending a defence — Henderson gives them a third off the bench. Morant’s eight assists suggested a playmaker happy to share the stage. The fit question will not be answered in October, but the talent question is not a question at all.

Phoenix’s alarm bells are real, even this early

It is fashionable — and usually correct — to say that one game means nothing. But 21-0 is not a normal bad night; 35.7 per cent shooting and 19.4 per cent from three, with the franchise player at minus-43, suggests something structural. Booker is in his 12th season, the supporting cast is new, three rotation players are already hurt, and the team that eliminated them from last season’s play-in picture just beat them by 41. The Suns’ front office built this roster to win now. Seasons rarely recover from opening nights like this, even if the calendar says there are 81 games left.

Portland’s rebuild has quietly accelerated

Zoom out and the Blazers’ last twelve months look extraordinary. They snapped a five-year post-season drought last season, then endured the arrest of head coach Chauncey Billups in an alleged gambling scheme, the departure of interim coach Tiago Splitter for the Chicago Bulls, and the arrival of Nori from the Timberwolves’ staff — all while their returning icon sat in a rehab room. To open the new season with a franchise-record-adjacent rout, with Lillard whole and Morant integrated, is to announce that the rebuild is over and the contention window is open. The Western Conference will not be an easy place to prove that, but Wednesday was the loudest possible opening statement.

What to Watch Next

1. Lillard’s minutes ramp: 24 minutes on opening night was by design. Whether Portland stretches him toward 30 or keeps him on a strict load-management plan through November will say everything about how much they trust the Achilles.
2. The backcourt chemistry test: Lillard and Morant shared the floor comfortably on Wednesday. The next ten games — starting in Sacramento on Friday — will show whether two ball-dominant guards can sustain it against set defences.
3. Phoenix’s response: the Suns host the Warriors on Saturday in their home opener. A second listless performance, especially with Kennard and Williams sidelined, would turn one bad night into a genuine early-season crisis.
4. Ighodaro’s hip: the young big’s first-half exit with a hip complaint is the injury to monitor; Phoenix’s frontcourt depth is already stretched thin with Williams out for months.
5. Avdija’s encore: after a 24.2-points-per-game breakout last season, Wednesday’s 18-and-10 on a sore ankle suggests the leap was real. A third star changes Portland’s ceiling entirely.

Sources

• Reuters — Damian Lillard shines in return to Blazers during rout of Suns
• Associated Press (via TSN) — Lillard returns with 25 points, Morant debuts and Blazers rout Suns
• Arizona Republic — Phoenix Suns fall in embarrassing fashion to Blazers in opener
• Sports Illustrated — Suns Embarrassed in Disastrous Season Opener vs Blazers