----- Anfernee Simons scored a game-high 33 points and Jerami Grant forced overtime with a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer as the Portland Trail Blazers top the Houston Rockets 137-131 Wednesday night in Houston.
Wild night in Houston!
Anfernee Simons scored a game-high 33 points and Deandre Ayton recorded a double-double with 18 points and 17 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Houston Rockets in overtime 137-131 Wednesday night at Toyota Center in Houston.
The Trail Blazers trailed 122-118 with 15 seconds remaining when Jerami Grant grabbed the rebound off a Jeff Green missed three-pointer. Grant then found Malcolm Brogdon in the corner for a three-pointer to trim the deficit to one-point at 122-121 with 3.0 seconds on the clock.
Portland (13-31) had a foul to give, so Houston was able to take the clock down to 2.1 seconds remaining. On the Rockets next inbound play, Portland was able to foul Aaron Holiday with 1.6 seconds remaining and he pushed the lead back to three-points at 124-121 making both free throws forcing a Billups timeout to advance the ball.
Malcolm Brogdon threw a pass on the wing to Grant and he hoisted a three-pointer that banked in at the buzzer tying the game at 124 forcing overtime.
The Trail Blazers put the game away with a 9-2 run to start the extra period.
Simons connected on 13-of-20 from the field, Matisse Thybulle finished with 13 points and three steals, and Grant finished with 21 points and nine assists.
Alperen Sengun led Houston (20-23) with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers travel to San Antonio to meet the Spurs on Friday evening. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:30 PM.
Chad's Take- Superb team win. I can't believe the degree of difficulty on the back-to-back threes from Brogdon and Grant.