If the Portland Trail Blazers’ future playoff success was predicated on the health of Brandon Roy (he had the case of the flu), they would actually do pretty well.  Roy sucked up an IV before game time then proceeded to score 25 in leading Portland to the 88-77 win over the Houston Rockets Tuesday night at the Rose Garden; the win narrows the Rockets’ series advantage to 3-2.

Portland went on an early 17-4 run in the first quarter, taking a 23-13 lead on a LaMarcus Aldridge jumper; but Luis Scola brought Houston back as he hit seven of nine shots and ended the quarter with 15 points, cutting their deficit to 29-26 to start the second quarter.  The Blazers built themselves a 46-36 lead late in the first half, but the Rockets closed to within to 48-43 on a Yao Ming dunk; Roy would finish up the half with a layup which gave Portland a 50-43 lead at halftime.

With the third quarter underway, Joel Przybilla dunked for the Trail Blazers, giving them a 56-45 lead but Houston responded with a 12-2 run, capped by a Ming jumper – putting the Rockets to within 58-57.  An Aaron Brooks trey tied the game at 60 and Houston would finally take the lead on a Ming jumper.

The Rockets would trail until the fourth quarter, when Ming and Von Wafer hit consecutive jumpers to go ahead 68-64; Portland would tie it up at 68, then Greg Oden drained a pair of free throws, giving the Blazers the lead back.  Travis Outlaw and Roy would pad Portland’s lead with a pair of 3-pointers to make it 77-68 with 5:21 remaining in the game; Brooks would score for Houston to close the gap to 80-75, but they wouldn’t get any closer.

Roy and Aldridge shared high scoring honors for Portland, with Roy grabbing 4 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists, along with 2 steals and a block while Aldridge grabbed 7 boards and dished out 2 assists along with a steal; Steve Blake added 15 with 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Houston was led by Scola with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists while Ming added 15 with 12 rebounds.  Portland looks to tie the series as they face Houston again on Thursday.