PORTLAND, Ore. -- Brandon Roy's emotional surprise return inspired the Blazers to rally in their playoff series, beating Phoenix 96-87 Saturday afternoon and evening their best-of-7 matchup at two games a piece.
Slideshow: Roy's Game 4 return
"I got chills when he got up and the crowd saw that he was going to scorer's table," said head coach Nate McMillan. "I know our players fed off of that."
A lively crowd at the Rose Garden made it tough for the Suns to get back into the game in the fourth quarter.
But Roy's return threw the Suns off early on. Roy had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee two days before the start of the playoffs. Although the team initially said he would not be available for the first round, his recovery time was put at one to two weeks.
The three-time All-Star leads the Blazers with 21.5 points per game.
Game 5 will be played in Phoenix on Monday night, beginning at 7:30 p.m. and live on KGW Newschannel 8.
Tickets for Game 6, which will return the series to Portland, go on-sale Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Trail Blazers website.
More: Playoff schedule
