PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Houston Rockets looked dead and buried, trailing 72-51 in the third quarter on the road Thursday night at the Moda Center.

Then suddenly the Rockets came to life, swinging the momentum 180 degrees and carrying it to a 119-105 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Guard James Harden scored 34 of his 46 points in the second half as the Rockets (29-29) won for only the fourth time in 11 games. Center Dwight Howard collected 19 points and 13 rebounds as Houston ended Portland's six-game winning streak.

Guard Damian Lillard scored 23 points and guard CJ McCollum added 20 for the Trail Blazers, who lost for only the second time in 13 outings.

Houston outscored Portland 70-41 in the second half -- including 33-12 in the fourth quarter -- on the way to the stunning victory. The Rockets dominated on points in the paint (62-26), second-chance points (23-9) and fastbreak points (16-9).

"We picked up our intensity," said Harden, who scored 19 of his points in the fourth quarter. "The first half, they were aggressive with everything and we were letting them do what they want. In the second half, we dictated what we wanted and got to our spots defensively."

Portland (30-28) made only five of 21 shots in the fourth quarter, going 1-for-9 from 3-point range. Houston was 9-for-15 from the field and 14-for-21 at the foul line over the final 12 minutes.

"(The Rockets) got into us defensively, made it difficult for us in the fourth quarter," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "And we didn't do what we needed to do defensively."

Lillard scored 12 points and McCollum 11 to stake Portland to a 64-49 halftime lead. Harden had 12 points, guard Patrick Beverley 11 and Howard 10 at the break for the Rockets.

The Blazers came out of the gates in the third quarter with an 8-1 run to improve their advantage to 72-51. From that point, they were outscored by a whopping 67-33 margin.

"The first half, we didn't take anything away," Houston coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "They got layups, they got dunks, they got open jumpers. In the second half, the message was, 'Take something away and make them have to earn it.'"

The Rockets closed the gap to 85-75 on back-to-back 3-pointers by guard Jason Terry. Moments later, Harden knocked down successive treys to cut the margin to 91-86. Portland's lead was 93-86 heading into the fourth quarter.

Harden converted a three-point play to start the final period, then scored on a pair of layups to tie the count at 93-93 with 7:40 remaining. Harden's lob pass for a Howard dunk gave the Rockets a 97-95 lead, and guard Corey Brewer drilled a 3-pointer to make it 100-95.

Harden's two free throws upped Houston's advantage to 104-96 with 4:09 to play. Lillard drove for a layup to cut the lead to 104-98, but Harden answered with a step-back jumper to make it 106-98.

McCollum scored on a jumper to cut Houston's lead to 106-100. Lillard's layup drew Portland within 107-102 with two minutes to play. Harden followed with five quick points to make it 112-102 with 1:28 left.

Lillard made a 3-pointer to cut it to 112-105 with 1:12 to go, but that was close as the Blazers were to get.

"It was frustrating because we played so well to start the game," Lillard said. "We came out strong in that third quarter, then we got a little comfortable.

"They saw a few shots go in, kept competing and stuck with it. They played like a desperate team. We took what we'd been doing for granted. They found life and came back and won the game."

NOTES: Houston G James Harden was 11-for-13 from the field and 9-for-10 from the foul line in the second half. ... With the win, Houston moved within a game of Portland in the Western Conference standings. The teams' season series finished 2-2. ... Portland G Damian Lillard's string of five consecutive games with 30-plus points ended. Only one other Trail Blazer -- Geoff Petrie in the team's inaugural 1970-71 season -- matched that feat. No Portland player has hit the 30-point barrier six times. ... Houston coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Lillard and G CJ McCollum: "They're as lethal as any guard combination in the league."