Harden, Westbrook and Capela combine as Houston Rockets extend win streak to eight games with win over Portland Trail Blazers

Benyam Kidane

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Harden, Westbrook and Capela combine as Houston Rockets extend win streak to eight games with win over Portland Trail Blazers image

The Houston Rockets extend their win streak to eight games, after a comfortable 132-108 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

The trio of James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Clint Capela did the bulk of the damage, combining for 86 points on the night. 

Harden continued his sizzling form scoring the ball, pouring in 36 points on 11-of-19 shooting and 5-of-10 from the three-point line. He is now averaging 42.1 points per game on 42 percent from three through the Rockets' streak, which has them now sitting at an 11-3 record on the season. 

A run his teammate Westbrook described as 'amazing'.

"I think that a lot of people try to normalise greatness when you see it over and over again, but it's not normal because there's nobody else that can do it," Westbrook said post-game. "If it was normal, everybody would do it. 

"He's put himself in a position to be one of the best offensive scorers of all time because of the way he's able to score the ball at a high level in a variety of different ways, so it's amazing. I'm just here to be able to help him along the way." 

After a tight first quarter, Harden came to life late in the second quarter, scoring 12 points in the final six minutes of the period to give the Rockets a 64-50 half-time lead and they never looked back.

Westbrook himself put forward one of his best games in a Rockets uniform, pouring in 28 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, for his third triple-double of the season and the 141st of his career.

The Rockets point guard was a blur, getting out in transition and pushing the tempo all game, showing how damaging he and Harden can be as a duo, with the Blazers having to pick their poison between the two offensive juggernauts.


While Harden and Westbrook controlled the perimeter, Clint Capela had his way in the paint, recording a season-high 22 points and 20 rebounds, becoming the first Rockets player to have at least 20 rebounds in four-straight games, since Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes in 1971.

Hayes was sitting courtside watching, alongside Hakeem Olajuwon, who was the last Rockets player to have a 20/20 game against the Blazers, before Capela's performance today.

For the Blazers, CJ McCollum led them in scoring with 25 points, while Damian Lillard had a tough night shooting the ball, managing just 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting, including 1-of-6 from three. He added 11 assists and six rebounds on the night. 

With the loss, the Blazers now sit at 5-9 on the season, with their next two games on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks. 

Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.