Trail Blazers fall to 0-4 at home with loss to Rockets

The Portland Trail Blazers provided the defensive effort needed through three quarters to potentially avoid being blown out by the favored Houston Rockets on Saturday night at the Moda Center.

But once again, the offense wasn’t there for the Blazers, who have struggled to score in their five-game homestand.

The Rockets walked away with a 125-103 win, while the Blazers were still searching for answers offensively.

“I thought we played right today, I really did,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “We play hard. Thought we shared the ball, played together. Overall, we didn’t make shots.”

Still, the Blazers finished with 28 assists, which impressed Billups all things considered. The Blazers missed several layups in traffic and shot just 33.3% from three-point range.

“I thought our intentions were really good tonight, sharing the ball, moving the ball,” Billups said.

Playing without starting center Deandre Ayton and backup center Donovan Clingan, the Blazers were outmatched against Houston center Alperen Sengun, who scored 23 points with 15 rebounds. He was instrumental in the Rockets’ 61-40 win over Portland. The Rockets scored 24 second-chance shots on 23 offensive rebounds, an Achilles’ heel for the Blazers all season.

“We knew it was going to be a tough night on the glass,” Billups said. “But we tried. It was just too overwhelming. We would have had to really shoot it well to stay in the game.”

The Blazers entered the night with a 102.4 offensive rating over the first three games on their home court (last in the NBA during that stretch) and averaged just 100.3 points per night.

That contributed to the Blazers losing those three games by a combined score of 68 points.

The Blazers fell behind 10-2 to start the game, but rallied, upped the ante on defense and ended the first quarter down 25-23.

But Anfernee Simons, who went scoreless in Thursday’s loss to the LA Clippers, failed to score in the first quarter against the Rockets.

He didn’t score his first points until he made back-to-back three-point shots in the second quarter. The first came with eight minutes and 30 seconds on the clock. The second came seconds later to give the Blazers a 31-29 lead.

The Rockets opened the third quarter with a run that put them up 70-58. Houston led 87-74 entering the final quarter, when the Rockets pulled away to lead 103-80 with 7:12 left.

Simons finished with 13 points. Scoot Henderson came off the bench to lead the Blazers with 21 points and 11 assists. Toumani Camara, also scoreless against the Clippers, scored 17 on 7-of-12 shooting.

Jalen Green led the Rockets with 26 points. Houston shot 45.2% from three-point range compared to 33.3 for the Blazers.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN

The Blazers (13-28) lost their fifth straight game and fell to 0-4 in their five home games. The Rockets (28-13) remain second in the Western Conference.

The Rockets claimed the season series 2-1. In late November, the Blazers lost 116–88 at the Rockets, then won 104–98 the following night.

JERAMI GRANT RETURNS

Grant returned after missing nine games with a facial contusion. He started but scored just seven points on 2-of-6 shooting in 25 minutes.

DAMAGE

Ayton (lower back soreness) and Deni Avdija (right ankle sprain) joined Clingan (right ankle sprain) and Matisse Thybulle (right ankle sprain) on the bench in street clothes.

NEXT UP

The Blazers close their five-game homestand at 18.00 Sunday against the Chicago Bulls (18-24).