Houston Rockets Rallies from 13-Point Deficit Against Portland Trail Blazers in Close 106-99 Win
In a game that was defined by a huge 4th-quarter on offense, the Houston Rockets were able to pull off a comeback win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night to notch their 39th win of the season.
Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson Lead the Rockets to Victory
Although it wasn’t pretty at first for the Rockets, as they trailed by as much as 13 points against a struggling Trail Blazers squad, the play of both Sengun and Thompson helped will Houston to the narrow win. Sengun would drop a game-high 28 points on a highly efficient 11 for 15 shooting from the floor, while Thompson stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists in the win.
While the Rockets would struggle to knock down any shots from beyond the arc, as they shot just 26% from three-point range, they would operate at a pretty good efficiency overall. Houston would end the night shooting better than 54% from the field, while also dominating in the paint with 64 total points coming from close range. That amount of paint points is quite impressive, considering the Trail Blazers rank in the top 10 in paint points allowed.
Houston would have to rely on their starting five for the majority of their offensive production, as the bench only managed to score just 10 points for the game. Thankfully for the Rockets, almost all of their starters had a solid outing on that end of the floor, namely Kevin Durant and Reed Sheppard, who both provided ample scoring support. Durant would score 20 points and grab 8 rebounds, while Sheppard dropped 17 points and dished out 6 assists in the win.
Trail Blazers Struggle from the Free-Throw Line in Loss
Despite only shooting a poor 40% from the field and 31% from three on offense, the Trail Blazers had the Rockets on the ropes for much of the game. Unfortunately, Portland’s struggles from the charity stripe would prevent them from stealing a win on the road. The Trail Blazers would shoot just 57% from the free-throw line, as they made 21 of 37 shots from the line in the loss.
Those misses from the line also spoiled another impressive outing from both Jrue Holiday and Donovan Clingan, with each player serving as the backbone of the Trail Blazers’ struggling offense tonight. Holiday would score 20 points and hand out 10 assists, while Clingan would continue to be a force inside as he notched a big double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.
Much like the Rockets, the second unit for the Trail Blazers would be missing in action as Portland leaned heavily on their starters, with almost all of them playing close to 40 minutes tonight. The only difference for the Trail Blazers compared to the Rockets, is that Portland simply could not overcome the poor performance of Scoot Henderson. The third-year guard would score just 4 points on 1 for 9 shooting from the field in a dismal outing once again.
Rockets Maintain Playoff Position Following Win
While the 3 through 6 seed line in the Western Conference standings has fluctuated heavily over the past few weeks, it seems a clearer picture of the jam-packed middle portion of the standings may finally be coming into focus. This win by Houston keeps them just a half-game ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the 4th-place position in the west, while also putting the Rockets just a half-game behind the Timberwolves for the 3rd-place spot.
Meanwhile, for the Trail Blazers, their chances at securing a play-in spot remain fairly good even with the loss tonight. Portland currently holds a 4-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies for the 10th-place and final play-in position in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers only need at least 8 to 9 more wins to essentially secure a spot in the play-in come April.
