Houston Rockets vs Washington Wizards Box Score on Dec 29, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 29, 2017

WASHINGTON -- Otto Porter scored 26 points and Bradley Beal had 21 as the Washington Wizards handed the Houston Rockets their fifth consecutive loss with a 121-103 win on Friday night.

Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Wizards (20-16), who turned a nine-point lead entering the fourth quarter into a rout. John Wall finished with 17 points.

James Harden led the Rockets (25-9) with 20 points. Chris Paul started and scored eight points in 25 minutes after sitting out the previous three games with a left adductor strain.

The Rockets, who average more 3-point attempts than any team, shot 5-for-25 from beyond the arc in the first half and finished 14 of 48.

Porter sank 7 of 11 from long distance and the Wizards shot 18 of 36 on 3-pointers. Washington finished at 53.4 percent from the field compared to Houston's 42.7 percent.

Both teams entered the matchup coming off difficult losses. Houston arrived in Washington less than 24 hours after a brutal 99-98 at Boston on Thursday night. The Celtics rallied despite trailing by 26 points in the first half.

The Wizards continued their trend of struggling against teams with losing records, falling to Atlanta 113-99 on Wednesday. Washington is 9-10 against teams under .500.

The flip side of the Wizards' erratic play are better efforts against NBA contenders. That showed in the first half on both ends of the court against the Rockets.

Porter scored 14 points as Washington led 59-48 while holding Houston to its fewest first-half points on the season.

Houston trimmed a 15-point first-half deficit to 72-66 with 3:50 left in the third quarter, but Washington never let the NBA's highest scoring team get closer.

Harden joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history with at least 20 points in the first 34 games of the season.

Newly signed Gerald Green scored 18 points and Eric Gordon had 16 for Houston.

Despite Paul's return, Houston remained without multiple key contributors, including center Clint Capela. The Rockets' primary rim protector sat out for the fourth time in six games with a right orbital fracture.

Jodie Meeks added 13 points for the Wizards.

NOTES: F Luc Mbah a Moute (right shoulder dislocation) and C Nene (rest) were also unavailable for Houston. Nene played over four seasons for Washington from 2012-2016. ... Wizards F Mike Scott was not with the team Friday due to the birth of his second child. ... The two teams do not meet again until April 3 in Houston. ... Houston closes 2017 on Sunday at home with its third meeting of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers. The series is 1-1, with the Lakers taking the previous meeting 122-116 in Los Angeles on Dec. 20. ... The Wizards host the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.