News / Sports
NBA Scores Western Conference Playoffs: Houston Rockets Halt Late Charge from Portland Trail Blazers, Take 2-1 Series Lead
Luis Scola scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, Shane Battier added 16 points and Yao Ming grabbed 13 boards as the Houston Rockets held off a late charge from the Portland Trail Blazers to win 86-83 on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series.
Portland looked awful in the opening frame as they through scoreless stretches of 3:17 and 4:49 as they trailed 17-8 with 1:21 left in the quarter but they managed to put seven points on the board in the final minute to get within 21-15 heading into the second. The Trail Blazers tried to stay close in the second but they struggled to find a scorer and the Rockets pushed their lead to as many as 15 before Portland cut their deficit to 48-37 at the break.
The way the third quarter started it looked like the Trail Blazers had packed it in as the Rockets jumped to a 54-37 lead but Portland began to see their shots fall and by the end of the frame they were within single digits at 66-59. Houston pushed the advantage back to double digits in the opening minutes of the fourth but Steve Blake buried a pair of three-pointers and added a layup to get the Blazers to within 73-69 with five minutes on the clock. Battier gave the Rockets some breathing room with a triple of his own and a pair of free-throws from Ron Artest put Houston up 78-69 with four minutes on the clock. Portland kept fighting and found success with the long ball and when Rudy Fernandez sank a three with 17 seconds on the clock the Rockets lead was down to 81-80. Aaron Brooks hit a pair from the line for Houston to push the lead up to three and when Steve Blake missed his three-pointer the Rockets went back to the line and Battier iced it with a pair.
Houston benefited from their more physical style of play as they got to the foul-line 24 times and sank 19 while the Trail Blazers were 9-10 from the stripe.
For more NBA Playoff scores from Friday:
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