Damian Lillard scored 20 points, Nassir Little chipped in a double-double off the bench and the Portland Trail Blazers earned their first road win with a 104-92 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday.
Lillard drilled a pair of third-quarter 3-pointers that helped the Trail Blazers reclaim control after the Rockets cut what was a 14-point deficit to 65-60 on a Jae’Sean Tate basket at the 5:32 mark of the period.
Lillard capped a brief spurt that featured a Robert Covington 3 and two Jusuf Nurkic free throws. A Little dunk put Portland ahead by 17, its largest lead of the night.
Lillard added six rebounds and seven assists to pace a balanced attack for Portland C.J. McCollum added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Little (13 points, 14 boards) led the bench brigade. The Trail Blazers received 42 points from their reserves.
The Rockets dropped their 10th consecutive game and were undone by their poor shooting. Houston finished 34 for 85 from the floor and missed 25 of 32 3-pointers. The Rockets went more than seven minutes without a field goal during one stretch in the second quarter and completed that period shooting 6 of 23 from the floor while missing all six of their 3-pointers.
Tate finished with 14 points and six rebounds despite picking up three quick fouls in the first quarter. Kevin Porter Jr. tallied 18 points, five rebounds and five assists while Christian Wood grabbed 15 rebounds to go along with eight points. Eric Gordon scored 11 off the bench.
Portland seized control with a 26-8 run that bridged the opening two periods, including a 13-2 push that capped the first quarter. Little had seven points and an assist during the closing surge and McCollum beat the buzzer to give the Trail Blazers a 30-27 lead entering the second.
Related: NBA Rookie of the Year 2023 – Jabari Smith tops the list, Jaden Ivey a sleeper
A Lillard 3 pushed the Portland lead to 43-33 before the Trail Blazers went more than three minutes without a field goal. But the Rockets endured an even longer drought and, despite a Wood putback just prior to the first-half buzzer, Houston trailed 55-45 at the intermission.
The Trail Blazers had been 0-6 on the road this season.
–Field Level Media