Rockets Light Up Scoreboard, Down Blazers

Chandler Parson’s big night helped the Rockets past the Blazers Monday.

The Houston Rockets secured a second straight win Monday, handing the Portland Trail Blazers a 126-113 defeat in a high scoring game at Toyota Center.

On a day that saw the NBA pay respect to Martin Luther King, Jr., with a full-slate of action, the Rockets made sure entertainment and celebration were top of the menu in Space City.

The Rockets quickly jumped out to a nine-point lead at the end of a high-scoring first quarter before entering the locker room with a 71-56 advantage at halftime.

Unlike last Thursday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which saw the Rockets score just 19 points in the second half after tallying 73 before halftime, Kevin McHale’s side continued to pour in the points after the break, eventually emerging with a 126-113 victory.

Chandler Parsons led the team with a season-high 31 points, adding 10 rebounds and seven assists to his tally too. His near-triple-double came as he managed to get the better of the Portland front line.

This weekend Slam reported that Dwight Howard had “been promised” a move to the Nets back in 2012. Howard parried any potential distraction that report might have brought with it by scoring 24 points and pulling down 12 rebounds, proving to be another obstacle the Blazers couldn’t overcome.

James Harden added 22 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Omni Casspi contributed 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench. In his return from injury, Patrick Beverly had 17 points.

Portland remained in the game thanks in part to a monster performance from LaMarcus Aldridge. The forward had 27 points and 20 rebounds as he battled Howard and Parsons.

Damian Lillard meanwhile had 24 points and five assists, while Wesley Matthews added 18 points.

The Rockets outshot the Blazers from the field, shooting 52.3 percent compared to 45.4 percent.

It was from beyond the arc where the damage was really done though. Houston finished the night 16-33 (48.5%) from downtown while Portland was 8-25 (32.0%).

The superior shooting was enough for the Rockets to overcome a -7 differential in turnovers.

The 126-113 final marked Houston’s seventh win in the last nine games, and sixth win in the last eight games. It also marked a season-high scoring output for the Texas team.

The loss snapped Portland’s five-game winning streak and moved the Blazers to 4-4 in their last eight road games.

The Rockets join the Phoenix Suns as the only team to have beaten high-flying Portland twice this season.

Vegas Impact

Houston entered the game as a two-point favorite and successfully covered the spread. It was the first time in four games the Rockets (21-19-3 ATS) had achieved that feat. Portland (23-18-0 ATS) meanwhile failed to cover the spread for the first time in four games.

Houston is now 8-3-1 ATS in its last 12 games against Portland.

Despite opening at a soaring 218 points, the total went over as the two teams combined for 239 points. The game marked the sixth time in a row Houston and Portland had forced the total to go over, something worth considering when the two sides meet for a final time this regular season on March 9.

Up Next

Houston (28-15, 17-6 home) will host the Sacramento Kings (14-25, 5-12 road) on Wednesday (8:00 p.m. ET) before playing a home-and-home series against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday and Saturday.

Portland (31-10, 15-6 road) meanwhile jumps out of the frying pan and into the fire. The Blazers visit Oklahoma City (31-10, 18-3 home) Tuesday in a game between the two best sides in the Northwest Division. The two teams enter the game tied atop the division with the Blazers owning a tiebreaker advantage.

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Oklahoma City odds for 01/21/2014

The Blazers will return from their current four-game road swing after Tuesday’s game in Oklahoma City for a pair of home games against division rivals, the Denver Nuggets (Thur.) and Minnesota Timberwolves (Sat.).

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