Rockets at Trail Blazers
The Houston Rockets aren't afraid to hoist up shots from anywhere as the NBA leaders in 3-point field goal attempts visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Houston kicked off its second five-game road trip of the young season with its fourth victory in five contests - a 117-104 win over Sacramento on Friday behind an NBA-record 50 attempts from 3-point range and James Harden's fourth triple-double of the season.
"That's this style of play that we built around James ... and we have shooters,'' Rockets forward Ryan Anderson told reporters after Houston made 21 and fell two shy of matching the record it shares with Orlando. "The great part about it, it didn't seem like we took 50. They were in rhythm, they were good looks and those are shots we normally take.'' Sunday's contest pits the NBA's fourth- and fifth-highest scorers through Friday's games in Harden (28.31 points per contest) and Portland's Damian Lillard (28.27), who recorded 27 along with 11 assists when the Trail Blazers began a four-game homestand with a 119-104 victory over New Orleans on Friday. Lillard lauded Portland's play at the other end of the court, telling reporters: "I think what we did on the defensive end allowed us to get out in transition and move the ball, and play at the pace that we wanted to be at. It worked in our favor, once we did it consistently.'' The Rockets prevailed 126-109 on Nov. 17 in the first of three meetings this season as Harden recorded 26 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds while Lillard's 18 points matched his second-lowest scoring output of the season.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports (Houston), CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (10-6): Four players average more than six attempts from 3-point range including Anderson, whose 40 percent success rate betters those of Trevor Ariza (39.3), Eric Gordon (36.3) and Harden (35.8). Gordon (14.9 points per game), Ariza (12.4) and Anderson (12.3) join center Clint Capela (11.9) as Houston's double-figure scorers while Capela grabs a team-most 8.7 rebounds. The Rockets are 4-1 since point guard Patrick Beverley (8.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists) returned to the lineup after missing the first 11 games of the season with a left knee injury.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (9-9): C.J. McCollum (22 points per game) is the other half of the second-highest scoring duo in the NBA (Golden State's Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry), scoring 24 Friday after recording a total of 29 in his previous two contests. Maurice Harkless (season-high 11 rebounds Friday) is Portland's only other double-figure scorer at 12.1 points. Lillard's 509 points through the first 18 games are the most in club history, surpassing Geoff Petrie's 494 in 1973.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Harden paces the NBA in assists at 12.4 per game as he tries to become the first player since the Kansas City Scouts' Nate "Tiny" Archibald in 1972-73 to lead the league in points and assists.
2. The teams split four meetings last season - the final three in a 20-day stretch in February - with each winning once on the other's home floor.
3. Portland (109.4 points per game) and Houston (108.5) are the fourth- and fifth-highest scoring teams in the NBA.