Alperen Sengun returned to Houston’s lineup after missing two games with an illness, but it wasn’t enough to slow veteran Trail Blazers big man Jusuf Nurkic (27 points, 15 rebounds, 70.6% FG) as the Rockets lost on Friday night in Portland, 125-111 (box score).
Houston fell to 1-5 with the loss, while Portland — without Damian Lillard due to a calf strain — improved to 5-1 on the season.
Besides Nurkic, the Blazers also benefited from a strong night by Anfernee Simons, who took on a higher usage rate in Lillard’s absence and posted a game-high 30 points and 6 assists on 7-of-15 shooting from 3-point range (46.7%). Simons easily outplayed Houston counterpart Jalen Green, who struggled with 11 points on 4-of-19 shooting (21.1%) and 2-of-10 on 3-pointers (20.0%).
Veteran guard Eric Gordon led the Rockets with 18 points and 5 assists on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range (57.1%). Sengun had 14 points (50.0% FG) and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes, while Kevin Porter Jr. added 16 points and 6 rebounds.
Scroll on for highlights, analysis, and postgame interviews. The Rockets will play game three of their four-city road trip on Sunday night at Phoenix (3-1), with the tip set for 8:00 p.m. Central.
Highlights
Analysis and Interviews
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Story originally appeared on Rockets Wire