Rockets Lose to Trail Blazers in Final Seconds

The Houston Rockets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers. Their 100 points in a game streak comes to an end.

Nov 23, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) dribbles against Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) in the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 104-98 on Saturday night.

Portland started off 4-for-7, getting a quick 10-3 lead. Ime Udoka called an early timeout, three minutes into the first quarter. Houston's offense in the first quarter was the story of the 26-21 score. They shot 28% from the field and 28.6% from three compared to the Trail Blazers' 38.5% from the field and 36.4% from three. Rebounding in the first was also not great, as the Rockets had nine, and Portland had 18.

Reed Sheppard got hot and hit two big threes for the Rockets in the second quarter to bring them back into the game, bringing them down by two. Jerami Grant then hit a three right after, pushing Portland's lead ahead. Portland went on a run, making the lead 36-29.

The second quarter kept up the same trends: rebounds and shooting. Houston found a way to bring itself back into the game down 54-52 at halftime. The Rockets were down by eight with less than two minutes left in the half, but the team's three-point shooting continued to struggle, finishing the quarter 29.4% from downtown. Portland outrebounded Houston 28-22 in the first.

Jerami Grant and Donovan Clingan were the names for Portland in the first 24 minutes of action. Houston could not find a way to contain Grant, as he had 20 points in 18 minutes. Clingan was dominant for them as well. He held Alperen Sengun to start 1-for-6 from the field. The 7-foot-2 center also had five defensive rebounds and six offensive rebounds, being the commanding lead for the Blazers' on the glass.

Houston went on a 7-0 run to end the second quarter, due to Sengun finding his rhythm. He ended the half with 11 points.

Jabari Smith Jr. hit a three early in the third to give the Rockets a two-point lead, causing Chauncey Billups to call a timeout. The Trail Blazers went on a 10-0 run, and the rest of the quarter was very back-and-forth scoring. Portland ended the quarter up by two points.

In the fourth quarter, Portland went up by eight points. Houston could not hold them on offense, and they also continued to miss their own threes. The Rockets started 0-for-5 to start the quarter.

Following their eight-point lead, Houston went on an 8-0 run, tying the game until Anfernee Simons made a layup. Simons made a three to make the game 90-83 on a 7-0 run.

Dillon Brooks ended their run, making a shot from deep. Amen Thompson got a steal at 90-88 and dunked the ball to tie the game on the other end before Sengun gave Houston the lead and then Simons tied it on the other end. Thompson made a layup with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter, followed by a layup from Simons to tie again. Simons then hit a three to make the game 99-96 with 27.9 seconds left in the game. From there, Sengun made a layup to make it 99-98 then Smith Jr. fouled Deni Avdija and he made both free throws to put Portland up 101-98. VanVleet took a three and air-balled on the following possession, thinking he got fouled. Shaedon Sharpe got fouled and sunk both free throws to put the game away, as the Blazers went up 103-98.

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