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Parsons, Rockets snap Blazers' win streak

Jan 21, 2014 - 6:41 AM Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Chandler Parsons scored a season-high 31 points to go with 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 126-113 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.

Dwight Howard added 24 points and 12 rebounds and James Harden had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Rockets, winners in five of their last six games.

Patrick Beverly returned from a 14-game absence due to a broken hand and scored 17 points in just under 29 minutes.

"Patrick gave us a huge lift. I thought his defense was tremendous.Patrick just brings a little bit of swagger," said Rockets coach Kevin McHale. "He has no agenda when he plays besides play hard."

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and pulled down 20 boards, Damian Lillard poured in 24 points and Wesley Matthews finished with 18 for the Trail Blazers, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.

The Rockets, who were 16-for-22 from the field in the first quarter, led 23-9 just under five minutes in. Portland was able to pull within single digits later in the frame, but a Harden step back made it 37-23 at the 1:46 mark.

"When they scored 18 points in four minutes, that kind of set the tone for the game. They did what they do very well tonight," said Blazers coach Terry Stotts.

Aldridge tipped in his own miss, and C.J. McCollum knocked down a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to make it 37-28 after 12 minutes.

Houston poured it on in the second, using a 16-6 run to take a 53-36 lead. The Rockets led by as many as 22 points with 90 seconds left in the first half, but Portland closed the quarter with a 7-0 run to make it 71-56 entering the break.

The Blazers scored seven straight just past the midway point of the third to pull within 86-80. The Rockets, though, pushed their spread back to 13, 93-80, just moments later and took a 106-91 advantage into the final frame.

Portland pulled within 11 with six minutes remaining, but the Rockets scored seven straight to essentially put the game out of reach. The swing was highlighted by an alley-oop slam from Harden to Howard.

The Blazers never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Parsons was one point shy of matching his career high ... Houston set a season-high with 126 points. The Rockets scored 122 against Denver on Nov. 16 ... The Rockets shot 52.3 percent (45-for-86) from the field ... Omri Casspi scored 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds for Houston ... Aldridge had more rebounds (20) than the rest of the team (17) ... Portland closes a four- game road trip in Oklahoma City on Tuesday.