You may recall that the last time the Trail Blazers and Rockets faced off, guard Chris Paul scored a basket in the waning moments of what ended up being a comfortable 121-112 victory for Houston. A few of Portland's players, particularly Damian Lillard, took offense to Paul's decision to go to the rim rather than dribbling the ball until time expired, which some consider to be standard NBA decorum in a game that is out of reach. Then again, others pointed out that if players don't want their opponents to score, even in the final moments of a game that is all but decided, then it's their responsibility to defend until the game is officially over.
So with the Rockets coming to Portland tonight (tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on TNT and Rip City Radio 620 AM) for the third of three meetings this season, that's exactly what the team has vowed to do...
During an extended interview with ESPN's Chris B. Haynes at a local steakhouse, Lillard and CJ McCollum discussed what makes the Rockets one of the frontrunners to win the NBA Championship this season, with the conversation eventually turning to Paul's play at the end of the last contest. Lillard talks about the time his rookie season that he made the mistake of scoring late in a blowout, but then notes that if the Rockets choose to go that direction again, they'll make sure they're ready to defend until the end.
"We're gonna play to zeroes on the clock," said Lillard. "I mean a strong contest at the rim."