NBA 2018-19: 3 talking points from Houston Rockets' win over Portland Trail Blazers

The Houston Rockets had lost the previous three games when the Portland Trail Blazers had visited them. So it was not surprising that Portland gave the hosts tough competition all throughout the 48 minutes yesterday, until Houston pulled away in the final minutes of the game to clinch a much-needed 111-103 victory.

It's no secret at this point that the Rockets are not that good anymore, even with all their players up and running on the roster. They just can't seem to rediscover the balance they had unearthed last year, and although they won this particular game, they still stand at a sorrowful 14th in the West with a 12-14 (0.462) win-loss record.

With this loss to the Rockets, the Trail Blazers have now lost 7 of their last 10 games, and currently, hold the 8th spot with a 15-12 (0.556) record in the air-tight Western Conference leaderboard.

Let's get down and dirty with the stats now and see how things played out on the floor in this Rockets win.

---

#1 Seven of the Rockets' players scored in double digits

Chris Paul bounced back with a triple-double.

Starters James Harden, Chris Paul, Clint Capela, Eric Gordon and reserves Gerald Green, Nene Hilario and Danuel House Jr. all scored in double digits. The Trail Blazers kept trying their hardest to stop the Rockets offense before time ran out on them.

The hosts' bench stepped up big time, outscoring their Trail Blazers counterparts 37-13. This was a pleasant surprise in a season where the reserves have not been of much help to the Rockets starting lineup.

To put things into perspective, the Houston bench ranked last in the league in points per game leading into this clash.

“They won the game for us,” Houston coach Mike D’Antoni said of the bench. “They turned it around when we were down 15, and they came in, and Nene, Danuel House and Gerald put a lot of energy.”

James Harden finished with a team-high 29 points while Chris Paul scored his first triple-double of the season putting up 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the 34 minutes he played.

The Rockets as a team shot almost 50% from the field.

#2 Lillard and McCollum combined for 56 points but lost down the stretch

CJ McCollum driving on the Rockets defense.

Damian Lillard is scoring an average 27.5 points per game (4th best in the league) this season while the other half of the duo in CJ McCollum has been dropping 21 points on an average for the past 10 games.

Yesterday, Lillard finished with an impressive 34 points while McCollum added another 22 of his own, but they just couldn't hold it together for their team down the stretch.

Houston used a 25-5 run to end the third and start the fourth quarters, and opened up a 17-point lead midway through the last period of the game. The Trail Blazers answered with their own 14-2 burst, but what followed proved to be the final nail in the coffin.

With just over a minute left in the game, CP3's free-throws put Rockets up by 10. From that point on, Lillard and the Blazers couldn't get any closer than 8 points.

“We just haven’t been able to get it done," said Damian Lillard. "I think a lot of that has to do with how we start the fourth quarter. When you start off allowing a team to gain some momentum, and get comfortable and gain some confidence, they’re probably going to play a strong fourth quarter. And we’ve kind of struggled in that area.”

#3 The Rockets were the better defensive unit overall

James Harden & Clint Capella

Although the Rockets are totally reliant on the trio of Paul, Harden and Capela this season to take the offensive load and outscore the opponents, Nene and PJ Tucker offer a defensive toughness that was desperately needed of them in the wake of their best defender, Trevor Ariza, being traded.

For this game in particular, the Rockets forced Portland into committing 14 turnovers. They piled up 22 fast break points made possible by 9 steals collectively and 5 blocks.

“I thought Houston played pretty aggressive defense on us,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. “We took some possessions for granted and some turnovers led to their transition. Obviously, their bench came in and hand an impact on the game. . They just outplayed us in the second half.”

Although Houston committed 21 fouls in the process, it was their late offense that came to their rescue. They are 26th (out of 30) in terms of their defensive rating in the league, but if they can pull out some defensive keynotes from this matchup, that just might improve.