National Basketball Association
Houston 104, Portland 101
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 28, 2021
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Officials: #19 James Capers, #33 Sean Corbin, #31 Scott Wall
Attendance: 3154

Victor Oladipo scored 25 points, Christian Wood added a double-double and the host Houston Rockets erased an early 20-point deficit in defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 104-101 on Thursday.

Oladipo scored a driving layup with 26.2 seconds left to secure a three-point lead for Houston, which sealed its fourth consecutive victory with free throws from Wood and Eric Gordon down the stretch.

Portland hit 17 of 41 3-pointers but failed to force overtime when Anfernee Simons missed a contested trey at the buzzer.

Simons hit 4 of 9 from long range and scored 14 off the bench, complementing the sharpshooting of Damian Lillard (5 of 11 on 3-pointers, 30 points) and Gary Trent Jr., who had a stretch of three consecutive treys in the third quarter and two in a row in the fourth that cut what was a 13-point deficit to one at 86-85.

Trent scored 23 points for the Trail Blazers, who were without injured starters CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic.

Wood returned from a three-game injury hiatus and paired 22 points with 12 rebounds. John Wall added 20 points, five rebounds and six assists for Houston, which trailed 30-10 with 2:51 left in the first. Oladipo added seven rebounds and five assists.

The Rockets overcame what was a miserable start, missing their first seven shots and 13 of 16 while the Trail Blazers raced to a 25-8 lead. Lillard had 13 points and three assists in the opening quarter to pace Portland, but Houston found a rhythm by turning defense into offense, fueling its comeback with transition points.

Houston tallied 15 fast-break points in the second quarter, and eventually cut the deficit to four at 39-35 with 5:27 left before halftime.

Lillard responded with a driving layup, assisted on an Enes Kanter (13 points, 13 rebounds) basket and then hit a 3-pointer to momentarily stem the tide. But the Rockets kept running and dunking, with a transition dunk by Wood resulting in the first lead of the game for Houston at 49-48 with 1:37 left in the first half.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Portland   Houston
Damian Lillard 30 Scoring Victor Oladipo 25
Damian Lillard 9 Assists John Wall 6
Enes Kanter 13 Rebounds Christian Wood 12
Enes Kanter 3 Free Throws Made John Wall 5
Carmelo Anthony 2 Steals Sterling Brown 2
Derrick Jones Jr. 3 Blocks P.J. Tucker 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Portland 101 41.9 17-41 6-8 16 49 7 6 15
Houston 104 42.2 13-47 15-18 19 47 7 8 14
Upcoming Games
  • Houston will play their next game on the road against New Orleans. The Rockets have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .444 after a loss.
  • Portland will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .625 after a loss.