Houston Rockets vs Portland Trail Blazers Match Player Stats On Dec 09, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 10, 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. -- James Harden scored 48 points as the Houston Rockets rallied from a 14-point deficit after three quarters for a 124-117 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.

Chris Paul added 26 points and seven assists for the Rockets (20-4), who extended their win streak to nine games and have won 15 of their last 16 outings.

Damian Lillard scored 35 points and CJ McCollum had 28 for the Trail Blazers (13-12), who lost for the fourth straight game -- all at home. Lillard was 9-for-16 from 3-point range, matching the franchise record for made 3-pointers in a game he shares with Nicolas Batum.

The teams were tied at 62 after a wild first half.

Lillard's eighth 3-pointer gave Portland a 94-81 lead later in the third quarter. The Blazers outscored the Rockets 36-22 in the quarter to carry a 98-84 advantage into the final period.

Harden scored on a drive to cut the margin to 103-98 with 7:02 left. Harden's 3 trimmed the difference to 104-103 with six minutes to go. McCollum and Harden exchanged baskets, and it was 106-105 with 4:55 remaining.

Lillard knocked down a 3 to push Portland's lead to 109-105 with 4:31 to play. Paul scored in a drive to cut it to 109-107 with 4:12 to go. Trevor Ariza's trey gave Houston a 110-109 lead with 3:43 left, and P.J. Tucker's layup made it 112-109 with 2:51 to go.

Noah Vonleh's jumper got Portland to within 112-111 with 2:44 remaining. Tucker and McCollum traded baskets to make it 114-113 with 2:06to play.

Harden's three-point play pushed Houston in front 117-113 with 1:46 left. Lillard and Harden traded layups, and it was 119-115 with 1:22 to go. Harden sank 1 of 2 at the line for a 120-115 Houston lead with 30.1 seconds on the clock, and Paul wrapped it up by making a pair of foul shots with 18.6 ticks left.

Both teams started off hot offensively -- especially Portland, which jumped to a 20-16 lead after just five minutes. Lillard had 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting -- all 3-point attempts. Despite 17 points from Harden, the Blazers took a 37-31 advantage into the second quarter.

Portland increased its edge to 57-46 midway through the second period. The Rockets scored 10 in a row to close to within 57-56. The teams were knotted at the break.

NOTES: Portland started C Meyers Leonard and F Evan Turner in place of injured C Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) and F Moe Harkless (quad). ... The Blazers are now 7-8 at home. ... Portland G CJ McCollum had made just 25 of 73 shots from the field over the previous five games. ... Houston has scored at least 110 points in 15 of the last 16 games. ... Portland entered the game averaging 4.1 fast-break points per game. The Blazers had 15 Saturday night.