Photo Credit, ossports/Yalanda Charles
The Houston Rockets’ 124-117 victory over the Portland Trailblazers on Saturday night at the Moda Center extended its win streak to nine games. James Harden led the charge with 48 points, followed by Chris Paul 26 and seven assists.
The win did not come cheap, as Houston trailed by 14 points, 98-84 in the third quarter. But the tandem of Harden and Paul showed why they are a pair of the NBA’s best. Harden scored 28 points by intermission with the game tied at 62.
For most of the game, the Trailblazers kept a motion-filled defense harassing the Rockets around the three-point line and matched it on offense with timely baskets.
Surprisingly, Portland shot 43.9 percent from behind the arc why Houston shot 40. But credit the Trailblazers for its game plan.
The Rockets connected on 34-of-42 shots from the charity stripe which shows one of many positives this team hopes to benefit from down the stretch.
Late in the fourth quarter, fans watched Trevor Ariza stroke a trey to give Houston a 110-109 lead with 3:40 left. The Rockets rode that momentum until the final seconds ticked away.
Portland struggled, scoring only 19-points in the quarter while the Rockets tossed in a season best, 40 points in one quarter.
Damian Lillard led Portland with 35, and CJ McCollum added 28.
