PORTLAND, Ore. -- Clyde Drexler scored 32 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 34.4 seconds left Tuesday night, helping the Portland Trail Blazers maintain their precious home-court advantage in the Western Conference finals with a 120-114 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Portland, 9-0 at home in the playoffs, leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 and can advance to its first NBA finals in 23 years with a victory Thursday night at Phoenix.
The Blazers have struggled recently on the road, dropping their last five games by an average of 18.5 points. But if necessary, they will play host Game 7 Saturday.
x x x Saturday.
The Suns, who won the previous two games at home by a combined 46 points, fell for the 20th straight time at Portland. They have lost their three road games in the series by a combined 9 points.
In scoring his series high, Drexler snapped out of his scoring slump by hitting 13 of 24 shots. He added 10 rebounds. Jerome Kersey contributed 21 points and 11 rebounds and Terry Porter had 19 points and 12 assists.
Kevin Johnson scored 28 points for the Suns and Tom Chambers had 22, though he made only 6 of 21 shots.
Kersey snapped a 109-109 tie with two foul shots, then fed Drexler for a sensational slam in transition for a 113-109 Portland lead with 2:41 to play.
But the Suns retaliated with five straight points. Mark West hit a free throw, Dan Majerle scored off a difficult drive and Chambers made two free throws to put Phoenix ahead114-113 with 47.3 seconds left.
However, Drexler drew a foul on Majerle and sank two free throws 13 seconds later to push Portland back ahead.
On the next possession, Majerle missed a lay-up in traffic. Jeff Hornacek couldn't control a loose ball and fouled Buck Williams, who made two foul shots for a 117-114 edge with 14.9 seconds left.
Hornacek missed a 3-pointer with about 7 seconds to go, Kersey rebounded and canned one free throw with 5.2 seconds left to seal the victory.
x x x victory.
Hornacek hit for 7 straight Phoenix points, and when Johnson completed a 3-point play off a drive, the score was tied 98-98 with 8:18 to play.
Thirty seconds later, Danny Young coughed up the ball after colliding with teammate Duckworth, and Johnson coasted home for a breakaway layup that made it 102-99 with 7:32 remaining.
But the Blazers fought back. Drexler hit a 3-pointer, and West was called for a foul underneath. Duckworth made this foul shot, and Portland was within 106-105 with 6:09 to play.
Chambers missed 12 of his first 15 shots, but suddenly sank two straight as the Suns opened the third quarter with an 8-1 spurt to tie it 65-65. However, Porter nailed his third 3-pointer and Kersey dunked off Drexler's fastbreak feed to conclude a sudden 16-6 burst, and the Blazers carried a 91-84 lead into the final period.
Drexler, averaging just 16.5 points in the series -- almost 7 points under his season average -- struck for 18 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the first half as the Blazers raced to a 64-57 advantage.
Johnson had 17 points for the Suns by halftime, but got little help. Chambers missed 9 of 12 field-goal attempts and Hornacek took only 4 shots.
Phoenix started hot, making 7 of its first 10 shots to take a 17-9 lead. But Portland went on a 16-1 burst, holding the Suns without a field goal for a 4:22 stretch. Porter had 8 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the run that made it 25-18.
Phoenix, trailing 31-24 after one period, received two steals and a layup from Johnson to slip to within 33-31. But the Suns went cold again, managing just one basket in a five-minute span, and the Blazers capitalized for a 46-37 lead midway through the quarter.
