Ever watch an exciting, hard-fought, back-and-forth basketball game and wish it wouldn’t end? If you felt that way about the Portland Trail Blazers game versus the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, you’ll get the next best thing tonight as the two teams square off in a rematch.
The Blazers claimed the narrowest of victories Wednesday night when replays confirmed that the tip-in by Houston’s Tari Eason came a fraction of a second after time expired. For more on that game, check out Dave Deckard’s post-game recap and Conor Bergin’s report from press row.
With the 103-102 win on Wednesday, the Blazers have won six of their past seven games and currently hold the NBA’s longest winning streak at four in a row. They are one of only three teams, along with the Timberwolves and Raptors, that have yet to lose in 2026.
Can they continue their winning ways against a Houston team that was milliseconds away from completing their late-game comeback? Let’s take a closer look at what to expect in tonight’s rematch.
Portland Trail Blazers (18-20) vs. Houston Rockets (22-12) – Fri. Jan. 9th – 7:00pm Pacific
How to watch via antenna or cable: See your options on the Rip City Television Network.
How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else
How to listen: Rip City Radio 620AM
Trail Blazers Injuries: Kris Murray, Jerami Grant, Scoot Henderson, Damian Lillard, Matisse Thybulle, Blake Wesley (Out); Jrue Holiday (Doubtful)
Rockets Injuries: Alperen Sengun, Fred Vanvleet, Isaiah Crawford (Out).
Rockets SB Nation Affiliate: The Dream Shake
Supporting Cast. Portland’s Deni Avdija and Houston’s Kevin Durant are elite offensive players and had huge games on Wednesday, carrying much of the offensive load for their respective teams.
Avdija had a season-high 41 points on 13-24 shooting and 13-15 from the free throw line. But after averaging 9.5 assists per game over his previous 10 outings, he managed only two on Wednesday night. Much of that can be attributed to the fact that all Blazers not named Avdija shot just 38.9% (23-59) for the game.
On the other side, Durant is missing his most reliable offensive teammate in Alperen Sengun. The Turkish big man scores 21.8 points per game and is one of the better passing centers in the game, averaging a team-high 6.5 assists.
They have very different styles, but Avdija and Durant have both shown that they can consistently pile up the points. Friday night’s game may come down to which star gets more help from his supporting cast.
Rebounds. The Rockets are the best rebounding team in the NBA and had a massive rebounding edge (57-38) on Wednesday night, including a 24-6 advantage on the offensive glass. Houston converted that edge into 23 second-chance points, compared to just nine for the Blazers.
Portland’s Donovan Clingan is fifth in the NBA in rebounds per game and has more offensive rebounds than any other player in the league, but was held to only seven rebounds (one offensive) Wednesday night.
Anticipating the challenge, Coach Tiago Splitter adjusted his rotation to play bigger lineups featuring both Robert Williams III and Yang Hansen when Clingan rested. Hansen played 16:31 on Wednesday, marking the most he has played in a competitive game all season. He logged more time only in a pair of blowout losses to Oklahoma City and Memphis (his lone start).
The Blazers got away with the poor rebounding, because outside of Durant, Houston did not shoot the ball well. As a team, they shot 37.4% for the game and made just 8-36 from beyond the three-point arc.
If the Blazers can rebound better on Friday, they’ll have a chance to sweep the two-game series.
If the Rockets dominate the glass again, they’ll probably leave town with a split. After all, they were a fraction of a second away from taking the first game on an offensive rebound.
An All-Time Great. Durant will almost certainly pass Wilt Chamberlain for seventh all-time on the NBA’s scoring list. After his 37-point masterpiece on Wednesday night, Durant is just 15 points shy of passing Wilt the Stilt.
Lachard Binkley at SI.com wrote about Houston’s offensive struggles with Sengun, their primary facilitator, out of the lineup:
In fact, the Rockets have had their three worst 3-point shooting games in the last three games, and of course, all have been without Sengun. If the Rockets want to get back into the win column on Friday in the rematch with Portland, they will have to start shooting a much higher percentage all the way around.
Is Avdija actually an MVP candidate? No, but he’s exceeded all expectations and turned himself into one of the best players in the league. Thousands of Blazers fans in the Moda Center decided to let him know how they feel about him as he stood at the free throw line in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night:
