Trail Blazers at Rockets
The Houston Rockets are holding on to the final playoff slot in the Western Conference and will face their closest pursuer when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. It's the third game in a grueling four-day stretch for the Rockets, who posted a record-setting victory vs. Golden State on Tuesday night before dropping a narrow decision at defending champion Miami 24 hours later. Houston hit 23 3-pointers in rolling up 140 points in the win over the Warriors and is averaging 118.5 points in its last six games.
The Trail Blazers are making the third stop of a six-game road trip that will carry them into the All-Star break. Portland's offense became unhinged in the second half of Wednesday's 105-99 loss at Dallas. The Trail Blazers led by as many as 12 points and scored 61 in the first half - one shy of their season high - but went cold after intermission. Portland managed only four points in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter, allowing the Mavericks to pull away.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet Northwest (Portland), Comcast SportsNet Houston
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (25-24): LaMarcus Aldridge is more than justifying his recent selection to the Western Conference All-Star squad. He had 27 points and 10 rebounds at Dallas to extend his streak of double-doubles to six games. Aldridge is averaging 22.7 points and 11.3 rebounds during that span, helping pick up the scoring void created by the painful right wrist injury to Nicolas Batum. Although he has remained in the lineup, Batum is averaging only eight points in the last six games.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (27-24): James Harding has been the driving force all season for Houston, and that was again the case Wednesday when he scored 36 points and grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds vs. Miami. But the Rockets have received great balance, with all five starters hitting double figures in three of the past four games. Forwards Chandler Parsons and Patrick Patterson have been consistent: Parsons has averaged 17 points in his past six games while Patterson is scoring at a 14.6 clip in the last five.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The teams have met twice this season, with Portland winning both in overtime in a two-week span in November.
2. Harden has scored 53 points in the two meetings with the Trail Blazers this season.
3. Aldridge has averaged 19 points in 21 games against Houston but he scored 56 in the two matchups in November.