Chris Paul (27 points, 11-of-19 FG) lifted Houston to a 22-point halftime lead over Portland and ultimately saved them with a tie-breaking shot with just 0.8 seconds left as the Rockets (64-15) escaped with a 96-94 home win over the Blazers (48-31). - James Harden (24/7/6) was again hot from the perimeter (3-of-6 shooting from behind the arc), but his eight turnovers and two missed free throws late played a role in nearly allowing Portland to overcome the deficit. A much-improved performance from Clint Capela (11/10, +12 in 32 minutes) on the interior against Jusuf Nurkic also played a key role in Houston's early dominance. - Ryan Anderson remained out due to a sprained ankle suffered in Tuesday's win over Washington, while Eric Gordon sat out as a precaution with a minor twinge to his foot. As expected, Portland star Damian Lillard was also out with a sprained ankle. - Thursday's show explores those angles and more, including the lack of intensity late as the Rockets were outscored 50-30 in the second half after building a 66-44 lead at intermission. - In the final segment of the show, Locked on Celtics host John Karalis provides insight from Boston on Thursday's news of a season-ending knee injury to Kyrie Irving, while our Ben DuBose explains its potential relevance to the Rockets — particularly when it comes to Houston's planned offseason pursuit of LeBron James. - #Rockets #NBA #Blazers - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices