Rockets Fall Under Second Half Spell in 108-103 Collapse to Wizards
Reversion. Steph Kuzma. In the Bag.
Houston held a 15-point halftime lead, and led by as many as 19 points in the first half. But they play two halves for a reason, as the Rockets collapsed in the fourth quarter, as the Wizards stormed back to deal Houston a 108-103 loss on Wednesday night. After their first win of the calendar year, the Rockets reverted to old habits in crunch time, as they lost their 19th game in their last 21 overall contests. Alperen Sengun didn’t disappoint on his bobblehead night. Sengun finished with a triple double, garnering 21 points, 11 boards, 10 dimes, to along with 3 steals and 2 blocks. After the game of his life, Jalen Green failed to reach the 20-point mark, scoring only 19 points on another inefficient shooting performance. In good news, KJ Martin continues to play spectacular ball for Houston. Martin’s movement off-the-ball is arguably the best on the roster. He excels at cutting and finding open lanes for his patented dunks. And KJ is gelling with the Rockets dynamic duo. Of his 8 made field goals, 6 came on assists from either Green or Sengun, a sign of how well the three guys play together.
Despite their second-half meltdown, Houston still probably wins this game if it weren’t for Kyle Kuzma. The Wizards’ forward morphed into Steph Curry, hitting a strain of threes to keep the Rockets at bay in clutch time. Kuzma scored 20 of his 33 points in the final period. Bradley Beal chipped in 17 points for Washington, but the Wiz likely lose this contest without Kuzma’s late heroics.
The Rockets have to put this game in the past, it’s already in the bag, in the history books. It’s time to move on. And Houston won;’t have much time to dwell on Wednesday’s loss, as they host the Cavaliers at Toyota Center on Thursday night. Cleveland is a more talented team than the Wizards, and should prove a tough challenge for these Rockets. It’ll be the second night of a back-to-back… and these young Houston legs should be able to withstand two games in a row.