Portland and Houston will hook up again for the second time
this week tonight, when the Rockets host the Blazers at the Toyota Center.
In the season opener for both teams on Tuesday at The Rose Garden in Portland,
Travis Outlaw scored 23 points off the bench and Greg Oden added two points
and 12 rebounds in a 96-87 Blazers victory over the Rockets. Portland then
dropped its next game versus the Denver Nuggets, 97-94, on Thursday.
Brandon Roy drained 16-of-18 from the foul line en route to a 30-point effort
for Portland, which got 22 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, from
Rudy Fernandez. Oden was sent to the line with 4.6 seconds remaining and the
Blazers down 95-94, but missed both attempts.
"I definitely stepped up there with confidence, thinking I was going to hit it
and it didn't go that way. I put this loss on me, I need to step up and make
those," Oden said.
The Trail Blazers will play two straight and seven of their next 10 games on
the road, where they compiled a 20-21 record a year ago.
In Houston's season-opening loss at Portland, Aaron Brooks led the Rockets
with 19 points, but the frontcourt trio of Shane Battier, Luis Scola and Chuck
Hayes combined for just 17 points. It was a rematch of last year's first-round
playoff series won by the Rockets in six games.
The Rockets rebounded with a 108-107 victory at Golden State on Wednesday
thanks to Brooks' 18 points and 12 assists. Trevor Ariza notched 25 points and
Scola chipped in 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who will play
three of their next four games in Houston. Houston went 33-8 as the host last
season.
"It's a very big win because of that," Scola said. "It's difficult to get wins
in the first games of the season on the road. It was a huge win, but we've got
to keep going."
Houston has won seven of nine and eight of the last 11 meetings with Portland,
which has dropped four straight, 10 of 11 and 11 of its last 13 trips to the
Toyota Center.
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