NBA Game Summary - Houston at Portland

Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - LaMarcus Aldridge had just two points on 1- of-7 shooting through the first 20 minutes.

The final 28 minutes was arguably the best basketball he's ever played.

Aldridge had 31 points and 25 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Houston Rockets 111-104 on Thursday night.

Aldridge was 11-of-15 from the field over the last 28 minutes for Portland, which has won six of its last seven tilts and cracked the 100-point mark for the 10th straight time.

Robin Lopez added 16 points and 10 rebounds and Wesley Matthews netted 18 points in the triumph.

Dwight Howard tallied 32 points and 17 boards for the Rockets, who had won seven of their last nine games coming in. James Harden had 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds in defeat.

The game was tied 76-76 after three quarters of play, but Portland scored the first 10 points of the fourth to surge ahead as a Lopez layup made it 86-76.

Later, Howard's driving hook shot and Harden's three-point play whittled the deficit to 97-95 with 4:45 left before Portland put the game away with an 11-1 spurt.

Aldridge and Matthews had back-to-back three-point plays to cap the swing and give the hosts a healthy 108-96 with 2:05 remaining.

Earlier, Portland led 21-20 heading into the second, but Houston held a 44-43 edge at the break.