Trail Blazers at Rockets
The Portland Trail Blazers suffered a devastating defeat and they don’t have much time to get over it before visiting the host Houston Rockets on Sunday. Portland collapsed in the final two minutes of regulation on Saturday, letting an 11-point lead slip away before falling 111-101 in overtime to the Dallas Mavericks. The Trail Blazers have lost seven consecutive road games since winning at the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 11.
Houston recorded a 110-95 victory over Portland on Dec. 22 as star guard James Harden broke loose for 44 points. The Rockets have won six of seven games and are wrapping up a three-game homestand against a team that may still be dejected. “It was tough to lose like that but we’ve just got to bounce back,” Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge told reporters. “We outplayed them for all but two minutes. And those two minutes were the most important two minutes.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), ROOT (Houston)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (34-17): Point guard Damian Lillard scored 26 points and made four 3-point baskets against Dallas as he showed signs of emerging from a slump. Lillard was just 2-of-30 from 3-point range over the previous four games and he made four in a game for the first time since doing so against the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 14. The scoring issues saw Lillard average just 16.8 points over a five-game span before Saturday’s effort, which was his highest-scoring outing since tallying 34 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 11.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (35-15): Harden poured in 33 points in Friday’s 117-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks to halt a stretch of four games without reaching 30. The outing was Harden’s league-leading 22nd game of 30 or more points and he continues to lead the NBA in scoring at 27.1 points. Small forward Trevor Ariza had 24 points and six 3-pointers against the Bucks but is bothered by a sprained neck and his status will be firmed up as game time approaches.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Houston has won four its last five home matchups with the Trail Blazers.
2. Aldridge had 25 points and 14 rebounds against Dallas for his 26th double-double of the season.
3. The Rockets are 5-1 since losing C Dwight Howard to a knee injury.