Fortunes may be turning around for the Trail Blazers after losing six in a row. They have jumped out to a 51-47 lead against the Rockets. The Trail Blazers came into the contest with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We'll see if they're able to flip the script or if it'll just be more of the same. Portland Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets Current Records: Portland 19-52, Houston 35-35 The Rockets will be playing the full four quarters on Monday, but they're expected to have things wrapped up well before that. They will be playing at home against the Portland Trail Blazers at 8:00 p.m. ET at Toyota Center. The Trail Blazers are crawling into this matchup hobbled by six consecutive losses, while the Rockets will bounce in with eight consecutive wins. The Rockets scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Saturday. Everything went their way against
Utah as Houston made off with a 147-119 victory. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 85-55. The Rockets' success was spearheaded by the efforts of Fred VanVleet, who went 10 for 15 from beyond the arc en route to 34 points and 7 assists, and Jalen Green, who went 7 for 11 from beyond the arc en route to 41 points and 4 assists. As a matter of fact, that's the most points VanVleet has scored all season. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers suffered their closest loss since January 23rd on Saturday. They fell just short of Denver by a score of 114-111. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for the Trail Blazers in their matchups with the Nuggets: they've now lost seven in a row. Despite their loss, the Trail Blazers saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Duop Reath, who scored 24 points along with eight rebounds and two blocks, was perhaps the best of all. Houston has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won ten of their last 11 matches, which provided a massive bump to their 35-35 record this season. As for Portland, their loss was their fourth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 19-52. Monday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy match: The Rockets have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 46 rebounds per game (they're ranked third in rebounds per game overall). It's a different story for the Trail Blazers, though, as they've been averaging only 42 rebounds per game. Given the Rockets' sizable advantage in that area, the Trail Blazers will need to find a way to close that gap. The Rockets strolled past the Trail Blazers in their previous matchup on March 8th by a score of 123-107. Do the Rockets have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Trail Blazers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough. Houston is a big 12-point favorite against Portland, according to the latest . The line has drifted a bit towards the Rockets, as the game opened with the Rockets as a 10.5-point favorite. The over/under is 223 points. See for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. . Portland has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Houston.