HOUSTON — Anfernee Simons scored 25 points and Shaedon Sharpe added 24 as the Portland Trail Blazers bounced back from a tough loss with a 104-98 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
The victory came after Portland was blown out 116-88 by the Rockets in an NBA Cup game Friday night.
And to make matters worse for the Rockets, Fred VanVleet might have earned himself some additional discipline in the loss.
VanVleet was ejected after his frustration with the officiating boiled over in the final 10 seconds of the game.
He got the boot for pointing and addressing each referee after he thought he was fouled while trying to make a shot to even the score at 101. On the Rockets’ next possession, VanVleet was called for an offensive foul, his fifth personal of the night, leading to his outburst at the officials.
“I think I’m in enough trouble as it is tonight, so I probably don’t need to discuss too much officiating with you guys,” VanVleet said post-game, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “Heat of the moment, you always feel right — I know the refs aren’t trying to be wrong, but we disagreed quite a bit tonight.”
The Trail Blazers led by three late before Alperen Sengun cut the lead to 99-98 on a shot in the paint with 21 seconds left.
Portland got two free throws apiece from Deni Avdija and Sharpe to make it 103-98 with 4.3 seconds remaining. Simons added another free throw after VanVleet’s technical foul to secure the win.
Houston’s Dillon Brooks and Sharpe had to be separated after they got tangled up fighting for a rebound with about two minutes left. Brooks had to be pulled away from Simons after Brooks took issue with Simons pushing him away from the fray.
Sharpe was called for a loose ball foul on the play and Simons and Brooks both received technical fouls.
Sengun had 22 points and Amen Thompson added 19 points off the bench for the Rockets.
Trail Blazers: They showed grit in putting Friday’s loss behind them and moving quickly to snap a two-game skid.
Rockets: Houston needs to play more consistently after a poor offensive showing Saturday night a game after Friday’s big offensive outing when the team made 15 3-pointers.
Simons scored five quick points to make it 99-96 with less than 30 seconds to go, putting the Trail Blazers on top for good. He made a layup before hitting a 3-pointer after a block by Avdija.
The Blazers made 18 of 44 3-pointers and Houston managed just 8 of 32 attempts with Jalen Green going 1 for 9.
The Trail Blazers visit Memphis on Monday night and the Rockets visit Minnesota on Tuesday night.
— With files from Sportsnet Staff