Alston, Head Power Rockets Past Wizards
The Washington Wizards won their last two games by 20+ points, something they hadn't done since December 2004. So what did they do for an encore? Look rather listless and lethargic while taking it on the chin 92-84 from the visiting Houston Rockets.
With Tracy McGrady on the bench, the Wizards focused their defense around stopping Houston's 7-1 center Yao Ming, and they did an admirable job double-teaming him throughout the night. This tactic, however, left Houston's backcourt of Rafer Alston and Luther Head (not exactly household names) to shoulder the load, and they responded. Head recorded a career high 24 points - most of them coming on wide open jumpshots - while Alston put up a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. Alston used his quickness to get around Antonio Daniels with impunity, setting up his teammates with easy scores all night. The Rockets also killed the Wiz on the glass 46-28.
Yao finished with 21 points and nine rebounds in 40 minutes, but Brendan Haywood was his match on this night, at least when he was allowed to play. The two big men had almost identical stats through three quarters, but Haywood inexplicably spent most of the fourth on the bench as Wizards coach Eddie Jordan elected to go with Andray Blatche down the stretch. This proved to be disastrous, as Blatche finished with just two points and two rebounds before fouling out. To make matters worse, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison couldn't seem to find their groove, shooting a combined 9-26. The Wizards shot 42 percent for the game, including a brutal 5-20 in the second quarter.
Photos by Kyle Gustafson
"I thought we looked tired," Jordan said after the game. "Their quickness seemed to get past us and get into the open court. Houston is a good team," he continued. "They've got speed, good perimeter shooting and a good force in the middle in Yao. That combination was not good for us tonight."
The bench was the lone bright spot, netting 31 points, including 13 from the newly relocated Nick Young (pictured above). Young, who now sits beside Caron Butler in the Wizards locker room, looked for his shot all night, hitting a few of his trademark step-back jumpers and taking it to the rim when the defense crowded him.
Rookie Oleksiy Pecherov suited up and was on the bench for the Wizards after successfully going through his first full practice of the season on Monday. Coach Jordan told reporters after the game he thought it would take O-Pec at least a month to get into NBA game shape but he planned on using him for spot duty when he could.
The Wizards travel to Atlanta on Friday and return home to face the Boston Celtics on Saturday. The Celtics game is sold out and the start time has been moved to 7:30 p.m.