PORTLAND, Ore. -- James Harden snapped out of his slump. Omer Asik stopped LaMarcus Aldridge. But it was rookie Troy Daniels who made all the difference for the Houston Rockets. Daniels, who spent time in the D-League this season and didnt make his pro debut until March 5, hit a 3-pointer with 11.9 seconds left to lift the Rockets a 121-116 overtime victory over the Trail Blazers on Friday night and narrow Portlands first-round playoff advantage to 2-1. Harden finished with a career playoff-best 37 points and Dwight Howard added 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets. Aldridge had more than 40 points in each of Portlands victories in the first two games in Houston. But Asik did a good job of shutting him down in Game 3, holding the All-Star forward to 23 points. The Blazers were led by Damian Lillard with 30 points. Portland trailed by as many as 11 points in the final quarter but Nicolas Batum hit a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left to tie the game at 110. Harden missed a half-court shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime. Lillards layup gave Portland a 116-112 lead with 3:08 left in the extra period. Jeremy Lin hit a jumper from the top of the key before Hardens fadeaway tie it with 1:51 to go. Aldridge missed a jumper over Howard but Lin missed a 3-pointer on the other end before Daniels nailed his 3-pointer. Daniels finished with nine points in the game, all 3s. Before the game, coach Kevin McHale told Daniels to "be ready," the undrafted signee out of Virginia Commonwealth said. "He competes," McHale said. "He dives on the floor for balls. Hes a tough kid." Batum missed a 3 with 4.9 seconds left and Harden made free throws for the final margin. Only three teams have come back to win after losing the first two games of a seven-game series at home: The last was the 2004-05 Mavericks, who came back against the Rockets. Houston is 0-7 overall when falling behind 0-2 in the first round since the 1983-84 expansion. Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday at the Moda Center. "We havent done anything yet," McHale said. "Weve won one game. But it feels a lot better than losing." The Blazers hadnt opened a playoff series 2-0 since 1977, when they got the early jump on the Lakers en route to the Western Conference title. Portland went on to beat Philadelphia for its lone NBA championship. McHale, who acknowledged before the game that his team was frustrated, tinkered with the lineup and started Asik in place of Terrence Jones. Asik did a good job in keeping Aldridge out of the paint and the Rockets responded by coming out with intensity. "The came out and played as they should down two games," Aldridge said. Patrick Beverleys 3-pointer gave the Rockets and early 19-13 lead before Harden finished off the first quarter with a 3-pointer to put Houston up 35-24. Harden and Beverley each finished the first quarter with 11 points. Harden was the leagues top shooting guard in the regular season, but he was 14 of 47 from the field in his opening two playoff games for his worst two-game stretch of the season. Lillards 3-pointer tied it at 38, but Mo Williams and Robin Lopez each hit baskets to put Portland in front and cap a 16-point run. Lillard led all scorers with 16 points at the half and the Blazers had a 55-54 edge. Harden and Chandler Parsons made consecutive 3-pointers to give the Rockets a 71-65 lead midway through the third period. But Portland -- bolstered by a raucous hometown crowd -- kept Houstons lead in single digits until Hardens 3-pointer made it 90-80 with 10:18 to go in the game. Hardens jumper gave the Rockets a 100-91 lead with 6:21 left, but Lilliard made free throws that closed Portland to within 103-98 before a falling-down jumper and a foul shot to make it 103-101 with 4:05 left. Lillard scored on a layup to put Portland in front 107-106 with 1:59 left. After Harden made four straight free throws, Batum made the 3-pointer to tie it. "I thought we had some good looks down the stretch,Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Lin Harden and Daniels made their shots. And we didnt." NOTES: Houstons Terrence Jones went to Portlands Jefferson High School, leading the team to three straight Class 5A championships before playing for Kentucky. ... Among the fans in the crowd for the Blazers first home playoff game since 2011 were Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who grew up in Portland. ... The Blazers have made at least eight 3-pointers in the in three straight post-season games for the first time in franchise history. Avery Williamson Jets Jersey . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. Nathan Shepherd Jersey . - A pitch clock will be used this season during minor league games at Triple-A and Double-A, but it has been ruled out for the major leagues this year. http://www.authenticjetsfanatic.com/c-10...non-jersey.aspx. - The Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta reached agreement on a five-year contract Friday. Chris Herndon Jets Jersey . - Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II says the NFL has told the team it will not be docked a pick in this years draft for coach Mike Tomlins foray onto the field against Baltimore last November. Joe Namath Jets Jersey . - The Seattle Sounders busy off-season continues with the team acquiring defender Chad Marshall from the Columbus Crew in exchange for a 2015 third-round pick and allocation money.The Toronto Blue Jays arent quite ready to concede. The hosts can complete a sweep of the visiting Chicago Cubs and remain on the fringes for the second American League wild card playoff berth with a victory on Wednesday night in the finale of a three-game series at Rogers Centre. Torontos Tuesday night win over the Cubs was its second straight in the series, third in a row overall and eighth in 10 games. The Blue Jays are 4 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers, who currently hold the second of two wild card positions. The Blue Jays have won four straight at home and have been boosted over recent weeks by the hot bat of Jose Bautista, who stretched his personal hit streak to 13 games on Tuesday. He has a .333 average, eight home runs and 19 runs batted in during the stretch. "Jose has been one of the best hitters in baseball over the last few years," manager John Gibbons said. "Hes got the knack of doing something big when it counts, when we need something." Toronto has outscored the Cubs, 17-2, in the first two games of the series, but will encounter rookie right-hander Kyle Hendricks, whos in the midst of his own streak. The Cubs have won Hendricks last seven starts and nine of 10 overall. He was dinged for four runs in Chicagos 6-4 loss to Cincinnati in his big-league debut on July 10, but hes surrendered only 10 earned runs in 56 1/3 innings since. Kendricks previous outing came last Wednesday and hhe yielded two runs and nine hits in a 6-2 defeat of Milwaukee.dddddddddddd Meanwhile, the Cubs are batting just .218 while dropping five straight games. They face Torontos own hot pitcher, Drew Hutchison. Hutchison has given up just two runs in his last 21 2/3 innings over three home starts. In his last home outing, on Aug. 30, he tossed seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball in a 2-0 defeat of the New York Yankees. He last pitched on Friday against Boston and allowed three runs in six innings of a game the Blue Jays ultimately lost, 9-8, in 10 innings. Hutchison has never faced the Cubs. On Tuesday, Bautistas three-run double in the seventh inning led the Blue Jays to a 9-2 victory. Bautista finished with four RBI, Munenori Kawasaki and Jose Reyes each brought in two runs and Kevin Pillar and Edwin Encarnacion supplied three hits apiece for the Blue Jays. Mark Buehrle (12-9) gave up 10 hits and two runs with three strikeouts over seven innings for the win. Javier Baez had two hits and two runs scored, while Welington Castillo supplied three hits and an RBI for Chicago. Neil Ramirez (2-2) was tagged with the loss after giving up two runs in the seventh. Starter Jake Arrieta allowed two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts across 6 1/3 frames. The Jays and Cubs are meeting for the first time since 2008, when Chicago took two of three games north of the border. 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