The Washington Wizards hosted the Houston Rockets in their twentieth game this season and it did not turn out well for the home team. While Washington made a valiant effort to score late in the game, it was too little too late and the Wizards lost 103-109.
“We come out and play too cool, too soft,” Wizards Head Coach Randy Wittman said about the game. “Kind of just: ‘Let’s see how the game goes,’ which happens almost every home game. Until we get over that and play like we do on the road right from the jump ball…that’s where the game is lost.”
Wittman’s assessment of the game reflected what looked to be a lack of fire in the initial minutes.
The first half was the James Harden show. The Houston Rockets guard started putting points on the board early and never relented. The Wizards trailed for a large part of the first half, with the deficit growing as sizeable as fifteen points.
The third quarter showed a different energy from Washington with increased intensity. In one outstanding play, point guard John Wall blocked a shot by Harden. Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal dribbled down the court, threw the alley-oop and Wall soared through the air to slam it into the net. Wizards center Jared Dudley also played an important role, hitting a much-needed three-pointer and getting two steals.
The Rockets struggled mightily in possession turnovers, opening the door for the Wizards to surmount a comeback. The fourth quarter is when the game really started to heat up with a back and forth exchange of the lead every couple of minutes.
One area where the Rockets out-paced the Wizards in the final stretch was beyond the three-point line. Washington just could not get their three-point shots to fall and Houston really punished them because of it.
With less than three minutes remaining in the game, Rocket center Dwight Howard missed two important free throws which left the score tied at 99 – 99. With just seconds remaining in the game, the Rockets began to again pull away and the chance of the Wizards to make another impressive comeback slipped away.
Wall finished the game with 26 points and nine rebounds. Wizards center Marcin Gortat, who returned from a three-game absence, finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Harden led the floor finishing the game with 42 points.
The Wizards will play their next four games on the road.