The Portland Trail Blazers avenged an embarrassing loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night by coming back strong on Saturday, earning a 104-98 victory to split a pair of road games against the formidable foe. The Blazers were led by a trio of 20-point scorers: Jerami Grant (22), Shaedon Sharpe (24), and Anfernee Simons (25). Houston rode center Alperen Sengun’s 22-point performance and 7-11 shooting by bench forward Amen Thompson, but it wasn’t enough to secure the victory.
Here are some of the key factors affecting the outcome and showing how the Blazers are developing.