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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ Without two of their top players, the Portland Trail Blazers remained unbeaten in preseason play with an 89-77 win over Phoenix Thursday night. And, they say, that's all that matters.

``It's the preseason, and I think we are still the only unbeaten team,'' point guard Damon Stoudamire said. He's right. ``It seems like everyone is coming up asking why we are not winning by more points, but a win is a win.''

The Blazers turned the ball over 18 times and shot only 39 percent from the field, but got 22 points from Rasheed Wallace and 17 from Detlef Schrempf to pull away for the win.

Not before the Suns (5-3) who got 14 points from Todd Day and 13 from Cliff Robinson, made a game of it.

``We just didn't do a good job of executing in the second quarter and they came back. We looked flat,'' Schrempf said. ``They came back and then it was a game. Obviously we played well enough in the third quarter to put it away, but in the second quarter we handed it back to them.''

Wallace added 12 rebounds and played 39 minutes to lead the Blazers, who went on an 8-0 run midway through the final period to secure the win.

Jermaine O'Neal led the charge, scoring all eight of his points and all six of his rebounds in the final period. The Suns stayed with the Blazers most of the way, tying the game at 45 with a five-point spurt at the end of the first half.

Anfernee Hardaway stepped up in the third quarter, splitting the defense for a dunk that made the score 51-47 and drawing a double team that left Luc Longley open for a pair of jumpers that brought Phoenix within two points at 59-57. Phoenix trailed by only six points after three quarters, but, fueled by O'Neal and Bonzi Wells, Portland pulled away down the stretch.

``We started out real well and I was pleased with our ball movement and defensive energy,'' coach Mike Dunleavy said. ``But the second quarter was the worst quarter of the preseason. We just didn't do things the way we usually do.''

Stoudamire added 12 points and nine assists and Arvydas Sabonis scored 14 points. Hardaway and Tom Gugliotta added 10 points apiece for the Suns, while Longley had 11. Both teams played without starters, as Jason Kidd sat out to rest his right thigh, which he injured Friday against the Lakers. Scottie Pippin was benched with a sprained left index finger. Forward Brian Grant is out with knee surgery.

The Blazers took a 31-22 lead into the second quarter after leading by as many as 14, thanks in part to Schrempf, who scored 11 points in the opening period in starting for Pippen. But the Suns capitalized on the Blazers' second unit's inability to score in the second quarter, going on runs of 8-2 and 10-2 to take a 40-39 lead despite Hardaway's absence.

``It was a win--we did what we had to do to get a win,'' Stoudamire said. ``Right now the expectation is so high on every game. Everybody expects every game to be that perfect game. I mean we are human beings and we are not going to play every time the way we are capable of playing. But the bottom line is we are winning.''