Houston trailed Portland by 15 points entering the fourth quarter, but came back to defeat them 108-103 in overtime. Corey Brewer hit a deep three at the end of regulation to tie it at 99. James Harden then led the way, scoring all nine points in the exra quarter for the Rockets, who improved to 5-7 on the season.
The comeback victory was much needed for Houston, who took the court the same day they fired head coach Kevin McHale. McHale was coaching his fifth season with the team. The Rockets came into the season with high expections after a playoff run that ended in the Western Conference Finals. Unfortuantely, a lack luster start to the season had them at 4-7 entering the day, and the Rockets decided they needed to light a spark under the team. They responded accordingly with their fourth quarter rally, which could potentially be looked back at as a turning point in their season.
As usual, Portland was led by Damian Lillard who scored a team high 23 points on 6-19 shooting from the field. C.J. McCollum, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Allen Crabbe also chipped in with double-digit point totals. Along with Aminu's 16 points, he also added 15 rebounds in 37 minutes. The Trailblazers fell to 4-9 with the loss and will look to bounce back Friday when they welcome the Clippers to town.
James Harden nealry had a monster triple double for the Rockets with 45 points (11-29 FG, 4-15 3PT, 19-20 FT), eight rebounds, 11 assists, and five steals in 47 minutes. Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer each added 18 and 16 points respectively, while Dwight Howard scored seven points and grabbed 19 boards. Houston will look to carry their momentum into Friday's game in Memphis.
