The Portland Trail Blazers had the lead, the chance to close it out, and a familiar face waiting to spoil the finish.
Javonte Cooke, the former Trail Blazers two-way guard now with the Phoenix Suns, powered Phoenix to an 81-79 summer league win at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas on Friday night. Cooke scored 21 points off the bench, going 7-for-12, and delivered the late shots that turned a tight game into a Suns victory.
The first half didn’t offer much in the way of fireworks. Portland went into halftime up 14, but the game had been sluggish almost from the opening tip. Through the first 20 minutes, both teams were stuck at 31% shooting or worse, and they combined for just one made 3-pointer in 10 attempts.
Phoenix found its rhythm in the third quarter, outscoring Portland 31-18 to erase the deficit and make the game a fight again. From there, the Blazers kept hanging around.
Frankie Fidler’s free throws pulled Portland back within a single possession late in the fourth quarter, but Cooke answered with a wide-open corner 3-pointer. Portland still had life after DJ Steward, who led the Blazers in scoring, drilled a top-of-the-key three and Chris Youngblood slipped in a crafty layup past 7-foot-2 center Khaman Maluach to trim it to one.
Then Cooke struck again, this time with a step-back 3-pointer that gave Phoenix the edge for good.
For Cooke, it was another strong summer league showing. He’s making his fourth straight appearance in the event, and this one came against the organization that gave him his first NBA opportunity. Portland signed him to a two-way contract in October 2025 after an impressive G League run with the Oklahoma City Blue, making him the second active NBA player to spend four years at a Division II school.
Cooke appeared in 19 games for the Trail Blazers, though he topped 10 minutes only twice. He was far more productive in the G League with the Rip City Remix, where he averaged 20.1 points in 17 starts.
But in March 2026, Portland waived him to make room for Jayson Kent and Chris Youngblood on two-way deals. Three months later, all three were on the floor in Vegas - and it was Cooke who had the final word.
In Other News...
Blazers Just Sent Yang Hansen A Brutal Message About His Minutes
The Blazers kept adding to their frontcourt this week, claiming Micah Potter off waivers after already signing Branden Carlson. It is another sign that Portland is not leaving the center rotation to chance, especially with Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III already in the mix and the team clearly looking for more reliable depth behind them.
For Yang Hansen, the message is hard to miss. The 2025 first-round pick is now competing in a crowded room where Carlson and Potter are both in line for rotation minutes, and every available stint is going to be earned the hard way. Portland may still like Hansens long-term upside, but the immediate path to playing time just got a lot narrower. [Read more 🡒]
Yang Hansen Gave Blazers Fans Plenty To Love And Worry About
Yang Hansens first Summer League run in a Trail Blazers uniform gave fans a little of everything in Portlands 81-79 loss to Phoenix. The young big showed off the kind of footwork and passing touch that made him such an intriguing addition, and he was active on the glass while logging 26 minutes in Las Vegas. For a debut in a setting where everything is magnified, it was easy to see why the Blazers are interested in what he might become.
The other side of the tape was just as revealing. Hansen is still learning how to handle the physical edge that comes with NBA-level frontcourt play, and he had stretches where the Suns made him work for every inch. That is the tension for Portland now: the skill package is real, the growth curve is obvious, and the path to a rotation role will depend on how quickly he can tighten the areas that were exposed in his first look. [Read more 🡒]