• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Rockets cross paths with Blazers

Feb 8, 2015 - 3:18 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers are two of the top scoring teams in the NBA and will bump heads Sunday night.

The Rockets are averaging 102.9 points per game and the Blazers are right behind with 102.5 ppg.

Houston has scored 100 or more points in three straight games and will close out a three-game homestand versus Portland. The Rockets have defeated Chicago and Milwaukee on this stay and won for the sixth time in seven tries with a 117-111 decision versus the Bucks on Friday.

NBA leading scorer James Harden (27.1 ppg) scored 33 points on 9-of-14 shooting and Trevor Ariza added 24. Josh Smith checked in with 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in 32 minutes off the bench and Donatas Motiejunas scored 14 points for Houston, which made 50.6 percent and won for the fourth straight time at home.

"We made enough plays and kept them at bay," Rockets head coach Kevin McHale said. "We did some good things tonight."

The Rockets are 18-7 at home and will start a three-game trip Tuesday against Phoenix, LA Clippers and Dallas.

Ariza (neck) is probable versus the Trail Blazers.

Portland fell back into the loss column with Saturday's 111-101 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Big D.

The Trail Blazers were outscored, 13-2, in the final two minutes of regulation and Dallas posted a 15-5 advantage in overtime. It was Portland's first overtime loss in four games (3-1). Damian Lillard paced Portland with 26 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, while LaMarcus Aldridge collected his sixth double-double in a row with 25 points and 14 rebounds.

Dallas finished the game on a 28-7 run, beginning with about two minutes remaining in regulation.

"I don't really have words right now," Wesley Matthews said. "I don't think I've ever been a part of a game like that or been on this side of it, on the losing side of that. But we have to bounce back; we have a tough one tomorrow in Houston."

Portland, which fell to 12-12 on the road, is 7-4 in the second game of a back-to-back affair and will host the LA Lakers on Wednesday in Rip City.

The Blazers were dealt a 110-95 setback at Houston on Dec. 22 and Harden poured in 44 points on 14-of-26 shooting. The Western powers will collide March 11 in the Rose City.

The Blazers bested the Rockets in six games during the first round of last season's playoffs. The Rockets have won 10 of the last 13 against the Blazers in the regular season. Houston has taken seven of the previous nine as the host in this series.