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Sports

Bench leads Rockets to 103-96 win over Blazers

Associated Press
Published | Updated

PORTLAND, Ore. – Chase Budinger had 22 points off the bench and the Houston Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 103-96 on Wednesday night.

Houston lost starting guard Kyle Lowry to a right arm injury late in the third quarter and he did not return. The extent of the injury was not immediately known.

Lowry had 12 points before he left. Courtney Lee finished with 16 as the Rockets' bench accounted for 66 points.

Houston led by as many as 19 for its second straight win on the road. The Rockets were coming off a 99-90 victory at Denver on Monday night.

Jamal Crawford came off the bench to score 21 points for the Blazers, who rallied to tie the game at 77 on LaMarcus Aldridge's dunk in the fourth quarter. But Portland could not pull ahead.

It was Portland's second straight loss at the Rose Garden and only the team's third loss at home this season.

The Blazers were coming off an emotional 111-107 overtime loss at home to Oklahoma City on Monday. Portland led 103-101 with 6 seconds left when Aldridge was called for goaltending on Kevin Durant. That tied the game, which went to overtime, and the deflated Blazers were outshot by the Thunder.

The next day, the NBA posted a statement on its website that officials in the game had made an incorrect call.

Portland guard Raymond Felton returned to the starting lineup after missing the game against Oklahoma City because of a left foot strain.

Crawford's 3-pointer pulled the Blazers to 39-38 in the second quarter, but the Rockets pulled away, going up 58-44 on Kyle Lowry's 3-pointer. Luis Scola was 5 for 5 from the floor to start the game, but spent a lot of the second quarter watching while the Rockets' reserves built a lead by as many as 14 points.

Houston led 60-46 at the break before Scola hit a 3-pointer that put the Rockets up 71-56 midway through the third.

Late in the quarter, Lowry headed for the locker room holding his right shoulder.

Portland pulled within 77-75 when Crawford hit a 3 early in the fourth, and Aldridge tied it with a dunk that made it 77-all with 9:57 left.

But the Rockets quelled the rally and extended their lead to 90-82 after Budinger's jumper and Goran Dragic's layup.

Courtney Lee's 3-pointer with 4:13 left made it 93-86 and Portland could not make up ground.

The win was Houston's third straight against the Blazers.

Gerald Wallace added 20 points and nine rebounds for Portland while Aldridge, who scored 39 against the Thunder, was held to 13 points by the Rockets.

Notes: The NBA announced that Houston will host the 2013 All-Star game. ... For Military Appreciation Night at the Rose Garden, the Blazers honored 91-year-old Carl Deiz, who served with the famous Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. ... The Rockets signed 6-foot-10 center/forward Greg Smith. He was averaging 16.8 points and 8.3 rebounds with the D-League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers.