The Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets faced each other for the second time in a row on Saturday evening at Portland’s Moda Center. One day ago, the Rockets smashed, mashed, and downright embarrassed the Blazers, taking a huge lead in the first period and never looking back. In Game 2, the Blazers came out motivated, energetic, and on-target, refusing to let Houston have their way.
What the Rockets couldn’t take by fiat, they took by attrition. The Blazers had decent moments, but they couldn’t keep the Rockets under 50% shooting, nor did they have enough offensive firepower to keep up under those circumstances.