The Portland Trail Blazers won their fifth consecutive game in NBA action tonight, turning back the Houston Rockets for the second time in two outings to remain undefeated in 2026. The final score was
111-105, Portland. The Blazers have now won six of their last seven games and are 19-20 on the season. Toumani Camara led the way with 25 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists and another yeoman defensive effort. Kevin Durant posted 30 points for the Rockets, but it wasn’t enough to get his team back on target.
Player of the Game
Camara gets the nod tonight, scoring 16 points in the first quarter to keep the Blazers afloat while Deni Avdija struggled. But he wasn’t alone in a mind-boggling comeback effort that won’t be forgotten for quite a while!
Stat of the Night
The big number in this one was the Portland advantage in the fourth quarter, which the Blazers won 34-15, turning the game inside out. The Blazers were down 90-77 when the quarter started and it looked like they were done. Well, things aren’t always what they look like! Portland got help from up and down the line, notably clutch efforts from the free throw line from Deni and Sidy Cissoko. Bottom line? Right now this Blazers team is not very easy to beat!
What We Noticed
The Rockets came into this game determined to stop Deni Avdija from dropping another 40+ performance on them. Active double-teams got the job done in the first half. Deni didn’t make a field goal until the 2:10 mark of the second quarter and was held to 6 points in the half. On the other hand, all the Rockets got for the effort was a 56-55 lead at the break as Toumani Camara (18 points), Shaedon Sharpe (13 points) and Caleb Love (10 points) picked up most of the slack. The second half was a different story, as chronicled above.
Coaching challenges seem to be challenged by fans on a regular basis, and the ones made by Acting Head Coach Tiago Splitter are frequent targets. He caught a lot of heat for challenging an out-of-bounds call early in a game a while back, even though the Blazers won that one. Well, Houston Head Coach Ime Udoka did the same thing tonight, also successful. But what do coaches know about the subject?
Up Next
The Blazers continue their home stand Sunday against the New York Knicks. Game time is 3:00 p.m., PST.
