National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Portland 122, Houston 120
When: 9:30 PM ET, Sunday, April 20, 2014
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Officials: #15 Bennett Salvatore, #9 Derrick Stafford, #48 Scott Foster
Attendance: 18240

Trail Blazers 122, Rockets 120 (OT): LaMarcus Aldridge set a franchise playoff record with 46 points and also grabbed 18 rebounds before fouling out as visiting Portland outlasted Houston in the opener of the Western Conference first-round series.

Damian Lillard hit the tying and go-ahead free throws with 17 seconds left in the extra session to cap a 31-point outing for the fifth-seeded Trail Blazers. Wesley Matthews scored 18 points and Nicolas Batum added 14 points and nine rebounds for Portland, which will look to take a 2-0 lead in Wednesday’s Game 2 in Houston.

Rockets guard James Harden scored 27 points but was just 8-of-28 shooting and missed a short shot at the buzzer that could have forced a second overtime. Dwight Howard added 27 points and 15 rebounds and Chandler Parsons scored 24 points for Houston.

Portland overcame a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit, eventually using an 11-0 burst to tie the score at 98 on Aldridge’s three-point play with 2:46 remaining. The Rockets took a 106-104 lead on two free throws by Harden with 7.8 seconds left before Aldridge’s putback with 2.9 seconds left forced overtime.

Jeremy Lin (14 points) scored seven of Houston’s first 12 points in the extra session, including a driving hoop to put the Rockets up 118-116 with 53.6 seconds left. Lillard’s three-point play put Portland back ahead with 44.5 seconds to play and the second-year guard calmly hit the decisive free throws after Houston’s Francisco Garcia and Howard each split two free throws.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Portland’s previous high point total for a playoff game was 45 by Bonzi Wells against the Dallas Mavericks on April 23, 2003. … Rockets F Terrence Jones added 12 points and 13 rebounds as Houston recorded a 59-54 rebounding edge. … Both teams shot poorly from 3-point range – the Trail Blazers were 9-of-27 and the Rockets were 8-of-35.
Top Game Performances
 
Portland   Houston
LaMarcus Aldridge 46 Scoring James Harden 27
Damian Lillard 5 Assists James Harden 6
LaMarcus Aldridge 18 Rebounds Dwight Howard 15
LaMarcus Aldridge 10 Free Throws Made Dwight Howard 9
Wesley Matthews 3 Steals Patrick Beverley 1
LaMarcus Aldridge 2 Blocks Dwight Howard 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Portland 122 43.3 9-27 29-39 14 54 6 7 12
Houston 120 41.0 8-35 26-40 16 59 7 5 13
Upcoming Games
  • Houston will play their next game at home against Portland. The Rockets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Portland will play their next game on the road against Houston. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.