The Portland Trail Blazers suffered a disappointing loss to the new-look Houston Rockets on Thursday, blowing a 20-point first quarter advantage in the 104-101 defeat. The game went down to the wire, but was ultimately lost in the second quarter, when the Blazers were outscored 36-18 thanks to an energized Rockets attack.
Damian Lillard and Gary Trent Jr. combined for 53 points for Portland, but didn’t get enough help from the rest of the depleted lineup. Houston was led by the 25 points of newly acquired Victor Oladipo, who hit a late second-chance layup to help seal the win.