"The Rockets' 13-point fourth-quarter lead was long gone, replaced by a one-point deficit in the final minute. But Kevin Martin had been unstoppable through most of his 45-point night.

The 6-7 guard liked his chances.

Martin, isolated on Nicolas Batum, hesitated at the top of the circle, then took off to his right. He felt a bit of contact, then faded toward the baseline, launching his runner from seven feet.

Martin waited a moment for the whistle that had been ringing all night. It never came. He looked for the shooter's roll on the rim. It betrayed him.

The Portland Trail Blazers pushed their lead to five points, and when Courtney Lee's heave at the buzzer fell short, the Blazers held on to beat the Rockets 103-100 on Wednesday night at Toyota Center.

Martin's prodigious production marked his most points with the Rockets and the most ever by a Rockets player at Toyota Center. He hit 13 of 18 shots and also drew enough fouls to made 13 of 15 free throws.

But Martin's runner with 34.9 seconds remaining was his last shot. The Blazers would not let him get loose for a 3-pointer in the final seconds, and the Rockets ended the game by making just one of their final nine shots.

"That was a very bad loss for us," Martin said. "Down by eight at half and up 13 in the fourth and blew it. It's a very bad loss. Anything between that is meaningless."

The Blazers' rally from a 13-point deficit was the largest in a Rockets loss since the Los Angeles Lakers came back from 15 down on opening night. The outcome ended a nine-game Portland losing streak, including three playoff games, in Houston and was the Rockets' fourth loss in five games since they reached .500 and second to the Blazers in that span. "