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FILE – Portland Trail Blazers’ CJ McCollum reacts after his three-point shot against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at Moda Center on December 26, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. Steph Chambers / Getty Images / AFP
CJ McCollum drilled a 3-pointer with 6.9 seconds left before host Portland Trail Blazers converted a late defensive stop into a 128-126 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
McCollum was 9-of-16 3-pointers and added eight assists, teaming with Damian Lillard (32 points, nine assists) to offset the decisive shot by Rockets guard James Harden, who drilled two 3-pointers in the final moments, the second of which gave Houston a 126-125 lead with 15.3 seconds left.
Harden (44 points plus 17 assists, the highest of his career), however, had his pass with 1.3 seconds remaining intercepted by Robert Covington, and the Trail Blazers sealed the victory.
Christian Wood combined 31 points with 13 rebounds in his Rockets debut, while rookie Jae’Sean Tate added 13 points for Houston, which was left without six players due to COVID-19 protocols.
Portland converted a 17-2 run early in the third quarter into its first lead since the first quarter, a play that included a Covington triple and two free throws, a steal and a transition dunk by Derrick Jones Jr. and three triples. by McCollum.
The Rockets managed to regain an 85-84 lead entering the final period despite missing all nine of their 3-point attempts in the third quarter.
McCollum and Lillard kept pushing until Harden tied the Rockets 113-113 on a layup with 38.9 seconds left. Jusuf Nurkic missed two free throws with 32 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Lillard to win it when the bell rang, but his shot was misguided and the teams went into extra time.
With several key rotation players unavailable, the Rockets needed the production of unexpected contributors. Sterling Brown was the first to provide a spark, scoring eight points in the first quarter on 3-for-3 shots that included a pair of 3-pointers.
Brown helped Houston erase an initial six-point deficit, and the Rockets led a 31-27 lead in the second while Harden played all 12 minutes of the first quarter and recorded six points and eight assists.
By the middle of the second quarter, all nine available Rockets had played, and Houston moved up to a 55-39 lead by sharing the load offensively.
The Trail Blazers created a 12-4 streak that cut the deficit to eight points before Houston closed the half with a flourish.
While Lillard and McCollum combined for 34 points in the first half, the Rockets collected 15 points from Wood, 11 from Tate and a double-double from Harden (17 points, 10 assists) en route to a 68-58 lead in half time.
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