Rockets rally from 17 down in the third quarter to beat Trail Blazers in overtime
James Harden had 45 points, 11 assists and 5 steals, and the Houston Rockets rallied from 17 points down in the third quarter to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 108-103 in overtime to end a 4-game losing streak.
The Rockets trailed 46-35 at halftime and 69-52 with 2:38 left in the third quarter. They were still down 97-91 with 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter, with a 2.2% chance to win, and outscored the Trail Blazers 17-6 the rest of the way.
The Trail Blazers had the ball down 3 with 21 seconds left, but Dwight Howard stole the ball from Al-Farouq Aminu. A 3-pointer would have tied the game.
During clutch time, the Rockets outscored the Trail Blazers 14-13. Harden (No. 2 in clutch points, 2015-16) scored 11 of the Rockets’ 14 on 3 for 5 shooting and 5 for 5 at the line. Late in the fourth quarter, Harden had 2 of his 5 steals in 23 seconds, both with the game within five points, and the Rockets scored 2 points off them.
Harden scored 17 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter.
For the Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard scored 23 points (10 in the fourth quarter) but shot 6 for 19.
The Rockets went 30 for 35 at the line to the Trail Blazers’ 24 for 29. The Trail Blazers were outscored 35-20 in 12 minutes with Aminu, Lillard, Crabbe, McCollum and Plumlee on the floor together.