NBA 2018-19: 3 talking points from Houston Rockets' win over Portland Trail Blazers

#2 Lillard and McCollum combined for 56 points but lost down the stretch

CJ McCollum driving on the Rockets defense.

Damian Lillard is scoring an average 27.5 points per game (4th best in the league) this season while the other half of the duo in CJ McCollum has been dropping 21 points on an average for the past 10 games.

Yesterday, Lillard finished with an impressive 34 points while McCollum added another 22 of his own, but they just couldn't hold it together for their team down the stretch.

Houston used a 25-5 run to end the third and start the fourth quarters, and opened up a 17-point lead midway through the last period of the game. The Trail Blazers answered with their own 14-2 burst, but what followed proved to be the final nail in the coffin.

With just over a minute left in the game, CP3's free-throws put Rockets up by 10. From that point on, Lillard and the Blazers couldn't get any closer than 8 points.

“We just haven’t been able to get it done," said Damian Lillard. "I think a lot of that has to do with how we start the fourth quarter. When you start off allowing a team to gain some momentum, and get comfortable and gain some confidence, they’re probably going to play a strong fourth quarter. And we’ve kind of struggled in that area.”