Dillon Brooks' 28 Points Leads Houston to Blowout Victory over Portland in NBA Cup

The Houston Rockets advance to 2-0 in the NBA Cup, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 116-88 behind a strong outing from Dillon Brooks.

Nov 22, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) and forward Dillon Brooks (9) interact on the bench against the Portland Trailblazers during the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images / Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets hosted the Portland Trail Blazers at the Toyota Center for the team's second Emirates NBA Cup game on Friday night. The winner of the matchup would have sole control of the number one seed for West Group A in the in-season tournament.

The Rockets, similar to Wednesday night's action against the Indiana Pacers, started off slow as they began the game down 8-0. They couldn't buy a bucket and were sloppy with the basketball throughout the first few possessions of the game.

But Houston slowly picked it up thanks to a hot start from its star guard Jalen Green who hit three triples in the first quarter to keep the team on top.

The Rockets built on Green's first quarter performance, stretching their lead behind the high-energy play of their 'Terror Twins' in Tari Eason and Amen Thompson who combined for 20 points in the first half.

Their play along with Green's 17 first-half points helped Houston build a 20 point lead at the end of two quarters.

The game began to get even more out of hand once forward Dillon Brooks got hot in the second half. He scored 16 points in the third quarter, helping stretch the Rockets' lead to as much as 27.

That deficit proved to be too much to over come as Houston blew past Portland 116-88.

Brooks led the way for the Rockets in the scoring department Friday night, scoring a season-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Eason joined Brooks in the 20+ points club as he scored 22 points and also added eight rebounds to his tally.

Houston had other players join those two in double figures on the night with Alperen Şengün, Green and Thompson all scoring 10+ points. The Rockets' 'Terror Twins' also combined for seven stocks (steals and blocks) against the Trail Blazers, helping contribute to 28 points off turnovers on the night.

They now sit at the top of West Group A with a 2-0 record in the NBA Cup and a +48 point differential. Houston will look to build on this victory on Saturday night as it will face Portland once again as part of its back-to-back.

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