Rockets 118, Trail Blazers 113 (OT): James Harden scored 20 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and added 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals as Houston outlasted visiting Portland.

Jeremy Lin scored six of his 26 in the extra period, including the go-ahead bucket and the clinching free throws as the Rockets won their fifth straight. Harden hit the tying 3-pointer in regulation and overtime and ended up 7-of-12 from beyond the arc while Dwight Howard added 17 points and 12 rebounds and Chandler Parsons scored 16.

LaMarcus Aldridge collected 28 points and 12 rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 26 points for the Trail Blazers, who have dropped the first two of a five-game road trip. Damian Lillard scored 21 points before fouling out and Robin Lopez collected 11 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks for Portland.

Harden found Lin for a layup to cut it to 100-99 and then fed Lin for a 3-pointer to give the Rockets their first lead of the game at 102-101 with 1:25 to play. After Lillard responded with a basket and Harden had a shot blocked and committed a turnover, Matthews split a pair at the line with 12 seconds left to leave the door open - and Harden knocked down a 3-pointer with 8.8 seconds on the clock to force overtime.

Portland held a 54-47 lead at the break and pushed it two a 12-point edge less than a minutes into the third. It reached as much as 16 points before the Trail Blazers settled for an 85-73 advantage heading to the fourth, and Lillard’s 3-pointer with 8:30 left had them on top 94-81 before the Rockets made a run.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Portland F Nicolas Batum grabbed 12 rebounds but committed seven of the Blazers’ 21 turnovers. … The Rockets pushed a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers and two ahead of Portland in the race for the No. 3 spot in the West. … Blazers G Mo Williams added 10 points and 11 assists off the bench.