Simons scores 25, Sharpe adds 24, and the Trail Blazers bounce back with a 104-98 win over the Rockets.

HOUSTON (AP) — Anfernee Simons scored 25 points and Shadon Sharpe added 24 as the Portland Trail Blazers bounced back from a tough loss to defeat the Houston Rockets 104-98 on Saturday night.

The victory came after Portland lost 116-88 to the Rockets in the NBA Cup game on Friday night.

The Trail Blazers led by three late before Alperen Sengun cut the lead to 99-98 with a shot in the paint with 21 seconds left.

Portland got two free throws each from Deni Avdija and Sharpe to make it 103-98 with 4.3 seconds left. Simons added another free throw after a technical foul on Fred Van Vliet to secure the win.

Houston’s Dillon Brooks and Sharpe had to be separated after getting tangled up in a rebound fight with two minutes remaining. Brooks had to be pulled away from Simons after Brooks took issue with Simons pushing him away from the fight.

Sharpe was called for a foul on a loose ball during the play, and Simons and Brooks received technical fouls.

Sengun scored 22 points and Amen Thompson added 19 points off the bench for the Rockets.

Takeaway

Trail Blazers: They showed resilience, putting Friday’s loss behind them and moving quickly to snap a two-game skid.

Rockets: Houston needs to be more consistent after a poor offensive performance Saturday after a big offensive effort Friday that saw the team hit 15 3-pointers.

Key Point

Simons scored five quick points to make it 99-96 with less than 30 seconds left, putting the Trail Blazers on top for good. He took a break before hitting a 3-pointer after Avdija’s block.

Key Statistics

The Blazers made 18 of 44 3-point attempts, while Houston made just 8 of 32 attempts and Jalen Green made 1 of 9.

Next

The Trail Blazers visit Memphis on Monday night and the Rockets visit Minnesota on Tuesday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba