Houston Rockets (39-23) beat Portland Trail Blazers (30-34) 106-99 at home on Friday, March 6. The Trail Blazers led after three quarters, but the Rockets took control in the fourth.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Trail Blazers struck first, taking the opening quarter 34-27 and a 7-point lead after one. The Rockets moved in front with a 30-22 second quarter, carrying a 1-point lead into halftime.
The Trail Blazers won the third 26-20 to turn the game around, taking a 5-point lead into the fourth. The Rockets took the fourth 29-17; the Rockets completed the comeback for a 106-99 regulation win.
What decided it
The Rockets got more from their shots, finishing at 57.2% effective field-goal shooting compared with 47% for the Trail Blazers. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Trail Blazers did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 14.4 against 21.7. The Rockets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 99 possessions per team, the Rockets produced 106.7 points per 100 possessions to 99.6 for the Trail Blazers.
Who made the difference
Amen Thompson was the game's biggest individual force for HOU: 26 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast on 11-12 shooting. His Game Score of 29.9 led everyone. His team was +12 with him on the floor.
Toumani Camara led the Trail Blazers with 16 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl on 5-13 shooting, good for a 16.9 Game Score.
Donovan Clingan (18 pts, 13 reb, 0 ast) and Jrue Holiday (20 pts, 4 reb, 10 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Rockets about a 78% chance.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, the series is even.
The Rockets are now 39-23, and the Trail Blazers are 30-34. The Rockets last five before this game: W-W-L-W-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.