Houston Rockets prevailed in their recent encounter with the Western Conference red-hot team Portland Trail Blazers with a 119-105 come-from -behind win at the Moda Center on Thursday evening.
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While Portland had the lead the majority of the evening until there was just 7:40 left in the fourth quarter, Houston still showed true grit being able to manage a comeback and finish the game with a win.
The San Antonio Spurs scored a season-high 130 points the last time they played Houston and aim to beat the host Rockets for the sixth time in the past seven meetings when they meet on Saturday.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, center, passes the ball between Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Carter-Williams, right, and center Greg Monroe during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016.
It is weird to think about how much blame he dishes, but then we see he barely dishes the ball in game… Khris Middleton had 21 points and six assists for the Bucks. “Sixty-eight points from your backcourt, that goes a long way”. Harden, according to the report, also asked general manager Daryl Morey to trade center Dwight Howard, something the Rockets failed to do. Maurice Harkless would then check-in and double it, nailing a 35-foot prayer at the buzzer. “I thought the turning point was in the third quarter when we had a sizable lead and their offensive rebounds, they scored 13 points in the third quarter just off second-chance points”. EASTERN STRUGGLES All three of Portland’s losses in its last 18 games have come to teams from the Eastern Conference. Chemistry issues seem to be plaguing the talented team from Texas, as Dwight Howard seems to be on his way out of town. The Blazers managed to capitalize on some careless passes and generally disrupted Houston’s offensive flow. The Rockets missed 13 attempts in the period with all five of their baskets coming in the paint via layups or dunks.
McCollum’s 3-pointer early in the third quarter stretched the lead to 72-51.
The Portland Trail Blazers have a losing 14-23 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points.
Harden began to find ways to slither himself into the paint, and Jason Terry connected on back-to-back jumpers to pull Houston within 10 at 85-75. Harden followed with five quick points to make it 112-102 with 1:28 left. Even more impressive is that San Antonio still get the same amount of production from their older stars as Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan, and Tony Parker are still doing very well to help the team reach a very impressive record.
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“We were kind of letting them do what they wanted”, Harden said.
