Dogged Blazers push through in OT, beat Houston
HOUSTON Â The Trail Blazers beat Houston in overtime 95-85 Friday night, pushing their record to 2-1.
LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers with 27 points and added 11 rebounds, Damian Lillard had 20 points and a game-high nine assists to lead Portland.
Nicolas Batum bounced back from a poor shooting game in Friday's loss at Oklahoma City, making 5 of 11 from the field en route to 17 points and nine rebounds.
Wesley Matthews had 16 points, and center J.J. Hickson grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.
For Houston (2-1), J.J. Harden scored 24 points and guard Jeremy Lin had 13 points and seven assists.
Matthews hit a 3-pointer with 59.8 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 81-81.
Batum picked off a poor Lin pass, but Aldridge missed a 17-foot turnaround jumper and Hickson missed a rebound layup with 21 seconds to go, and the Rockets failed to get off a shot on their last possession, with Matthews poking the ball away from Harden as he was isolated on top, about 30 feet from the basket.
Lillard and Batum made 3-pointers in the first minute and a half of overtime to give Portland an 87-81 lead.
Houston never got closer than four points the rest of the way, and Lillard's 3 with 1:25 left made 93-85 for Portland.
Aldridge added a jumper, off a pass from Lillard, with 23.8 seconds remaining.
The Rockets were 1 of 8 from the field in OT, missing their first four shots, and they had two turnovers in the extra period.
Portland's three-game trip concludes with a game at Dallas at 5:30 p.m. PT Monday.














