The Washington Wizards closed the lead late in fifth consecutive loss, this time a 123-118 loss against the Houston Rockets
The Washington Wizards dropped their fifth consecutive game following a 123-118 loss against the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
Bilal Coulibaly finished with a team-high and season-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting while adding a pair of blocks in 25 minutes, while Kyshawn George added 16 points in 22 minutes after entering the night on a minutes restriction. Sharife Cooper finished with 21 points on 80% shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from three, while Jaden Hardy added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and three rebounds in 18 minutes.
It started with some good news after Maryland native and recent two-way addition Julian Reese making his debut with the Wizards in his first career NBA start, becoming the first Wizards rookie to start in his NBA debut in a non-season opener since at least the ABA-NBA merger in 1976-77.
Kyshawn George, who was upgraded to available hours ahead of tipoff, would start off on the wrong foot after picking up two quick fouls in the first three minutes of the game while guarding Kevin Durant. But he'd follow it up with a corner three to give Washington an early lead that they held onto, taking a 30-20 edge into the second quarter.
Bilal Coulibaly would prove to be a bright spot for Washington with four made threes at half to lead the way with 14 points, but the Wizards would have no answer in the paint. Houston outscored Washington, 30-10, in the paint with no answer for Alperen Sengun, who finished with 19 points on 70% shooting from the field, while Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson combined for 16 rebounds through the first half.
The Rockets would open the second half with a quick 7-0 run less than two minutes in, forcing head coach Brian Keefe to call a timeout with the deficit growing to 67-51. It wouldn't cool off Houston much at first with the lead approaching 20, but a quick 8-0 run thanks to consecutive threes from Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George trimmed would make it a single deficit game again until Kevin Durant began facilitating the offense.
Tampers would flare in the final three minutes of the third quarter between Tari Wason and Jamir Watkins, leading to a stoppage in play - and an ejection for Trae Young for leaving the bench, marking his first official stat with the team ahead of his debut on Thursday. Eason was also ejected with a second technical foul with Watkins earning a technical as well.
Washington would not be able to trim the deficit back to single digits until the final minutes and once Reese fouled out midway through the fourth quarter, posting two points and three steals in his NBA debut, the Wizards had no size to counter the Rockets down the stretch. A late bucket, technical on Kevin Durant and buzzer beating three helped keep the score respectable for Washington to end the game.
Also featured on Monday night: a fan draining a half court shot during a TV timeout to win $10,000.
The Wizards will return to action on Tuesday, March 3 to host the Orlando Magic with tipoff set for 7 PM.