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Il weekend US basketball opens with the seven games scheduled in the calendar of regular season NBA on the night of Saturday 17 December. Among these, al Toyota Center of Houston, Texas, the match between the Portland Trail Blazers and the hosts Houston Rockets. The Texans, albeit returning from a rather positive moment of form given the two surprising victories against Milwaukee Bucks e Phoenix Suns and narrow defeat against i Miami Heat in the previous commitment of regular seasonare found to share with the san antonio spurs the last place in the ranking of Western Conference, with a record of 9-19. As for Chauncey’s men Billupshowever, navigate in the upper part of the same Conference and in line with its seasonal goal of reaching i Playoff (possibly avoiding the Play-In Tournment).
NBA, Portland-Houston: The Trail Blazers have the better of the young roster of the Rockets
From the first moments of the game i Portland Trail Blazers they tried to leave their mark on the match, immediately trying to reach their opponents. Lillard and teammates manage to make decisive baskets right from the start that allow them to dig a first ideal furrow between themselves and the home team. The Houston Rockets, despite their young roster, they react to the blow by compacting and rediscovering their effectiveness in the offensive phase. The two teams continue to face each other keeping the distances less than double digits for the entire first fraction, going to the first mini break on the score of 33-27 for the Blazers. The hosts warmed up after the first interval, almost managing to cancel the gap that separates them from Portland in the middle of the second half. The match continues with plays of Lillard, Eaubanks e Hart on the one hand, Sengun, Smith Jr and especially martin jrwith a spectacular slam dunkfor the team coached by coach Stephen Silas. Deductibles going to rest on the score of 57-51 for give me dolla and companions, having delighted the public with an exciting game and spectacular plays.
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Back from break the two teams recite the script already interpreted in the first part of match. I Portland Trailblazers always in the guise of the Aesopian “hare” on the run, thanks also to the vast availability of offensive skills of LillardAnfernee Simons of Yusuf Nurkic; the Houston Rocketsfor their part, do not give up on defeat also driven by the fans of Toyota Center. The men of Billups however, they exploit the superior offensive skills of the top players on the roster to further tip the balance of the match on the side of the Oregon franchise, sending the gap between the two contenders into double figures for the first time after the first half of the third half of the game. The match now seems firmly in the hands of the Blazersconceding to coach Billups the possibility of making some men present in catch their breath starting lineup. But by changing the order of the men on the field, the offensive march of the guests does not change: the one who has just entered Watfordin fact, immediately shows off with a scoring streak by 6 points since his entry, to further increase the advantage of Trail Blazerswhich at the end of the fraction is 20 points, on the result of 85-65.
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NBA, Rockets-Trail Blazers: the story of the last quarter
The last quarter of the game is pure formality despite the start Houston Rockets have tried to implement the extreme and heroic attempt at a comeback, destroyed by the defensive composure of the Portland Trail Blazers which allowed him to stem the plays of the landlords and restart at his own pace. In the final minutes, with a partial score of 102-81 and still 5 on the clock, coach Billups decides to give space to those who have had less space so far regular season, virtually sanctioning the end of the dispute. She changes little on the scorecard from there to the end, with some important plays in the final, favored by the motivations influenced by the stake now decreed and assigned.
I Blazers return to Oregon with a 107-95 victory to flesh out their season record, now at 17-13, which places them in sixth place in their conference just behind the Sacramento Kings. As for the Houston RocketsCoach Stephen’s men Silas are always found at the bottom of the NBA Western Conference standings, sharing last place with the san antonio spurs with a record of 9-20. However, the Rockets will have the chance to make up for it in the next home match, the Texan derby against the Spurs.
