Brandon Roy made a 30-foot jump shot as overtime expired to give the Portland Trail Blazers a thrilling 101-99 win over the Houston Rockets in the NBA on Thursday.
The Blazers snapped a five-game losing streak to the Rockets in a game that featured three dramatic shots in the final 1.9 seconds.
With the Blazers trailing 99-98 and 0.8 seconds on the clock, the third-year shooting guard took a pass and shot from three feet behind the three-point line to score game winner.
PHOTO: AFP
“I played awful, but played well when it counted,” said Roy, who had struggled for most of the night and finished 6-for-18 from the field with 17 points.
“[LaMarcus Aldridge] carried us most of the night, and I told him I’d try to make some plays down the stretch,” Roy said.
Aldridge led the Blazers with a game-high 27 points and nine rebounds, while Rockets guard Tracy McGrady poured in 30.
Center Yao Ming had an off night scoring just 13 points on 4-for-13 shooting, but looked to have given Houston the win late in overtime.
Yao received an inbounds pass with 1.9 seconds to go in OT and made a turnaround jumper while drawing a foul. His free throw made it 99-98 to set up the game’s final play.
MAGIC 98, 76ERS 88
In Orlando, Florida, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis scored 20 points apiece as Orlando downed Philadelphia. With their All-Star center Dwight Howard limited to only four minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, the Magic got strong performances from elsewhere as Orlando won its third straight game.
Philadelphia, which had four players in double figures, cut a 23-point deficit to six in the fourth quarter but couldn’t draw closer.
Howard returned to score seven of his 14 points in the fourth.
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