The Rockets dominated early with an impressive 3-point shooting display and finished with more attempts than any NBA team this season. The Wizards countered by going big and going inside and it paid off when the former league laughingstock took down another winning team.
Bradley Beal scored 21 points and Emeka Okafor had 17 points, 11 rebounds and made the go-ahead free throw with 5.2 seconds remaining to help the Washington defeat Houston 105-103 on Saturday night.
Trevor Ariza added 18 points and John Wall had 12 points and 11 assists for the Wizards, who came back from a 17-point deficit for their second straight win. Washington, winner of 10 of its last 12 home games, scored 54 points in the paint to offset the 57 points Houston scored on 19 3-pointers.
James Harden scored 27 points and Chandler Parsons had 24 with five 3-pointers for the Rockets, who had won their first two games after the All-Star break. Houston attempted 46 3-pointers, the most in the NBA this season and three shy of the league record. The Rockets made 13 from beyond the arc in the first half, one off the NBA record they tied against Golden State on Feb. 5.
”We just wanted to make it tough, make them make contested shots,” Wall said. ”In the first half they weren’t missing. Second half we kind of got into more defensively, changed some of our game plans up and just executed on the other half.”
— Reported by Benjamin Standig of the Associated Press
