After an ugly 1^st quarter of basketball, but the Houston Rockets went on an 8-0 run in the 2^nd quarter. The Rockets were down 32-17 at the start of the 2^nd period but the play of Christian Wood, Victor Oladipo, and John Wall eclipsed the Portland Trail Blazers' defense. The big three of the Rockets had a grand total of 37 points to close out the 2^nd half. Although it was slow start for the Rockets, they finished the half strong.

Damian Lillard was on fire against the Rockets defense in the 1^st quarter but throughout the game, the Rockets' 2-3 zone limited those easy shots off pin downs. Houston's defense was allowing Lillard's teammates to take open shots, which Stephen Silas could live with. While Lillard was fighting for an open shot, Gary Trent Jr. shot four straight three-pointers in a row. Trent became the reason the Trail Blazers made it extremely close toward the end of the 3rd quarter. Lillard did finish with 30 points while Trent had 23 points. Trent and Lillard combined for 36 points behind the arc.

Even though the Rockets allowed Trent and Lillard to get their share of points, their defense found ways to get crucial stops. The Rockets' defensive rating was a 101.0 versus the Trail Blazers for the entire game. They caused Lillard to turn the ball over in crucial situations by trapping him along the perimeter. Lillard led his team with four turnovers because of the physical play of Eric Gordon and PJ Tucker. Those two became ferocious above the perimeter, so Lillard didn't have clean looks at the basket. Off 15 turnovers from the Blazers, the Rockets collected 22 points. The Rockets' defensive rating is No. 4 in the NBA, including having the best defensive rating since James Harden departed to the Brooklyn Nets. Hopefully, the Rockets keep up their tough defensive efforts.

"We did a little bit of everything tonight. We were in our drop, we were in blitzes, we switched," as Silas discussed the defensive strategy. "We did a little bit of everything cause they're so hard to guard. Lillard is one of the hardest guys to prepare for in the league..."

The Rockets big three were the difference in the game as John Wall, Christian Wood, and Victor Oladipo finished with 67 points.

Wall was able to use his blistering speed as he constantly beat the Trail Blazers in transition and finished with 20 points. Wood had the slowest start out of the three in the 1^st quarter. Silas eventually pulled Wood to relax his nerves as he became dangerous throughout the 2^nd quarter. Wood scored 14 points in the 2^nd quarter, which sparked various runs for the Rockets so they could take the lead before halftime. He displayed an All-Star performance with ferocious dunks and rebounding. Wood became difficult to contain in the paint and in transition. At the end of Thursday night, Wood finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Although Oladipo only shot 20 percent from the perimeter, he was aggressive in transition and found success attacking the paint. Oladipo found various driving lanes so he was able to collect 25 points off 47.8 percent shooting from the field. With 26.2 seconds left, Oladipo closed the game out on an acrobatic layup.

The Rockets are on a four-game winning streak because of their defense and grit. They seem to be playing with a chip on their shoulder since James Harden left.

Next up: The Rockets head to New Orleans to play the Pelicans on Saturday night.