Trail Blazers 111, Rockets 104: LaMarcus Aldridge outdueled Dwight Howard with 31 points and a career-high 25 rebounds as Portland held off visiting Houston.

Robin Lopez added 16 points and 10 boards and Wesley Matthews scored 18 for the Trail Blazers, who have won six of seven to boost their Western Conference-best record to 19-4. Aldridge scored 23 of his points in the second half as Portland exploded for 68 points.

Howard collected 32 points and 17 rebounds and James Harden scored 25 to lead the Rockets. Chandler Parsons added 14 points for Houston, which struggled to 5-of-20 from 3-point range.

Aldridge began the fourth quarter with a three-point play to kick off a 10-0 run as the Blazers took control. The Rockets cut it back to 97-95 on Harden’s three-point play with 4:45 left but Aldridge and Matthews capped an 11-1 spurt with back-to-back three-point plays to help Portland put it away.

Both teams shot under 37 percent in a sluggish first half but picked up the pace after the break, with the Blazers striking first on a 13-3 run to open the third and take a 56-47 lead. Houston came back with an 11-2 run later in the period and it went into the fourth knotted at 76.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Rockets coach Kevin McHale missed the game following the passing of his mother. Assistant Kelvin Sampson filled in. … Aldridge is the only player in the NBA this season with multiple 20-point, 20-rebound efforts. He has four career games of 30 points and 20 rebounds - a Portland record. … The Blazers have gone over 100 points in 10 straight games, the most for the franchise since a 13-game stretch in 1993-94.