PORTLAND, Ore. -- When the going got tough, Houston Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni went small.

With the Rockets trailing by 14 points entering the fourth quarter, D'Antoni sent out a lineup that included four guards and forward Luc Mbah a Moute.

Led by James Harden and Chris Paul, the Rockets outscored the Portland Trail Blazers 40-19 in the final period en route to a 124-117 victory Saturday night at Moda Center.

"We felt like we had a better shot at guarding (the Blazers) if we could switch everything (defensively)," D'Antoni said after Houston (20-4) extended its win streak to nine games. "It became more of a one-on-one game. We stepped it up in the fourth quarter. We did what we needed to do, and we got it done."

Harden scored 48 points -- 15 in the fourth quarter -- and Paul added 26 points and seven assists for the Rockets, who sank 15 of 18 shots from the field in the final period. Houston has won 15 of its last 16 outings.

"We had to figure something out, and in the fourth quarter we did a really good job," Harden said. "We were in attack mode (on offense). Defensively, we were aggressive switching everything and making them just take one shot."

Damian Lillard scored 35 points and CJ McCollum had 28 for the Trail Blazers (13-12), who lost their fourth straight game -- all at home. Lillard was 9-for-16 from 3-point range, matching the franchise record for made 3-pointers in a game he shares with Nicolas Batum.

"It's disappointing to lose, but (the Rockets) are the best team in the league right now," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "We competed with them, but came up short."

The Blazers outscored the Rockets 36-22 in the third quarter to carry a 98-84 advantage into the final period.

"They're an explosive team, and we had some turnovers in the fourth quarter," Lillard said. "At the end, they ran pick-and-rolls, and (Harden and Paul) are great scorers. We fought hard. We could have done a lot of things better to hold onto the lead. We just weren't able to pull it out."

Portland was 18 for 41 from 3-point range compared to Houston's 10 for 25. But the Rockets won the game at the foul line, converting 34 of 42 attempts to 9 for 12 for Portland.

"It was ridiculous," Stotts said. "There was a big disparity."

Both teams started off hot offensively -- especially Portland, which jumped to a 20-16 lead after just five minutes. Despite 17 points from Harden, the Blazers took a 37-31 advantage into the second quarter.

Portland increased its edge to 57-46 midway through the second period. The Rockets scored 10 in a row to close to within 57-56. The teams were knotted 62-62 at the break.

After Houston fell behind by 14 points heading into the fourth quarter, Harden scored seven straight points to draw Houston to within 106-105 with 4:55 remaining.

Trevor Ariza's trey gave the Rockets a 110-109 lead with 3:43 left, and P.J. Tucker's layup made it 112-109 with 2:51 to go.

Noah Vonleh's jumper got Portland to within 112-111 with 2:44 remaining. Tucker and McCollum traded baskets to make it 114-113 with 2:06 to play.

Harden's three-point play pushed Houston in front 117-113 with 1:46 left. Lillard and Harden traded layups, and it was 119-115 with 1:22 to go. Harden sank 1 of 2 at the line for a 120-115 Houston lead with 30.1 seconds on the clock, and Paul wrapped it up by making a pair of foul shots with 18.6 ticks left.

"We needed that kind of game," Harden said. "We've been beating teams by 15 (points) plus, so it was good to lock down when we needed to, to get stops when we needed to."

NOTES: Houston G James Harden's career scoring high is 56 points. ... Portland started C Meyers Leonard and F Evan Turner in place of injured C Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) and F Moe Harkless (quad). ... The Blazers are now 7-8 at home. ... Portland G CJ McCollum had made just 25 of 73 shots from the field over the previous five games. He was 11 for 21 Saturday. ... Houston has scored at least 110 points in 15 of the last 16 games. ... Portland entered the game averaging 4.1 fast-break points per game, last in the NBA. The Blazers had 15 Saturday night.