Damian Lillard couldn't help but to take Monday's loss to the Phoenix Suns personal after his Portland Trail Blazers squandered a 19-point lead, now losing four straight games.

Lillard started the game off hot, hitting his first five shots from deep. His Blazers were right with him, as the jumped to double up the Suns 38-19 in the first quarter.

Yet there were 36 minutes left to play in the game and the Suns never stopped fighting. Lillard would go on to miss his next seven attempts from distance, Devin Booker would punish the Blazers at the line, going 15-of-15 en route to his 33 points. Kelly Oubre would make a career-high seven treys and help the Suns sink the Blazers after a promising start for Rip City.

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“A tough loss for me,” said Lillard, according to Dwight Jaynes of NBC Sports Northwest. “A tough loss. I think when you have a hot start like we did, it’s important to retain your focus. We weren’t able to sustain that focus and that energy we had for the first part of the game.”

The Blazers had gotten a jolt upon acquiring Carmelo Anthony in November, but they have now dropped four games in a row, trailing the San Antonio Spurs by a half-game to muster the eighth seed in the West.

Portland has had a tough time maintaining its focus and intensity through the course of 48 minutes, and it was never more evident than Monday after the Blazers lost control of a game they had well in their grasp.