ROCKETS DEFEAT WIZARDS
Jalen Green's 42 points lift the Rockets to their 6th straight win
Mar 20, 2024, 10:12 am
ROCKETS DEFEAT WIZARDS
Jalen Green tied a career high with 42 points, and the Houston Rockets closed the third quarter on a 25-6 run en route to their sixth straight victory, 137-114 over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Houston is now just 2 1/2 games behind Golden State for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. Amen Thompson scored 25 points for the Rockets, and Fred VanVleet had seven points and 11 assists.
“I've had runs where I'd get hot and cool down,” Green said. “My main goal is just to keep building on the hot streaks and be as consistent as possible and affect the game in ways even when I'm not scoring the ball well.”
Corey Kispert scored 16 points for Washington, which was without Kyle Kuzma (left shoulder), Deni Avdija (right knee), Tyus Jones (back) and Bilal Coulibaly (right wrist).
Even with all those absences, the Wizards shot well enough from 3-point range to make a game of it for 2 1/2 quarters. Then Green broke a 76-all tie with two straight 3s and a three-point play, making it 85-76. After a couple Washington free throws, the Rockets scored seven more points in a row and it was never close after that.
“Really it was the last six minutes of the third,” Wizards interim coach Brian Keefe said. “That game was back and forth, pretty much the whole game until that point. Obviously Green, we made a couple blown coverages on some of our pick-and-roll stuff and he got hot. And it was hard to turn him off after that.”
Green scored 15 points in the third quarter and finished the game with 10 rebounds. His previous season high in points was 37 — last Thursday against Washington.
Jabari Smith Jr. scored 18 points with 14 rebounds for the Rockets. Justin Champagnie and Jules Bernard scored 16 points apiece for the Wizards.
“I think we had eight of the nine guys in double figures,” Keefe said. “So there were a lot of positives.”
Jock Landale had seven of Houston's 11 blocked shots. Washington's Jordan Poole had six of his shots blocked, five by Landale. Poole scored 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting.
Champagnie banked in a shot from midcourt to end the first quarter, cutting Houston's lead to three. The Rockets led 60-57 at halftime.
“My message was: We’re messing around with the game,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “We're scoring at a high enough clip, but we got to guard.”
Washington has won only four games at home this season, one fewer at Capital One Arena than North Carolina State's college team won at the ACC Tournament just last week. After five straight losses, the Wizards have the NBA's worst record at 11-58. They are 1 1/2 games behind Detroit.
UP NEXT
Rockets: Host Chicago on Thursday night.
Wizards: Host Sacramento on Thursday night.
The Houston Astros are looking to avoid an unexpected sweep Wednesday night as they wrap up their three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians at Daikin Park.
Winners of six of their last ten despite back-to-back losses, the Astros (55-37) turn to left-hander Brandon Walter (1-1, 4.15 ERA) to steady the ship and salvage the finale. Walter has been reliable in his recent outings, and he’ll face a Guardians lineup that has struggled to string together hits, batting just .204 over their last 10 games.
Cleveland (42-48) entered the series on a 10-game losing streak, but now has a chance to sweep the AL West leaders and take the season series. Slade Cecconi (3-4, 3.56 ERA) gets the start for the Guardians. The 26-year-old righty has kept his ERA under 4.00 this year and will look to neutralize a Houston offense that leads the American League in batting average at .260 and is hitting .295 over the last 10 games.
All eyes remain on Jose Altuve, who has driven in 16 runs and slugged four homers over his last 10 games. He’s been the heartbeat of the Houston offense, while Isaac Paredes continues to deliver steady power at the top of the lineup. The Astros have scored five or more runs in eight of their last ten games, but the bullpen faltered late in both of the first two games of this series.
Cleveland counters with the steady presence of Carlos Santana and the always-dangerous Jose Ramirez. Though Ramirez is just 6-for-38 in his last 10 games, he’s delivered key home runs in the series and remains the Guardians’ biggest threat.
With the season series now 3-2 in favor of Cleveland, Wednesday’s matchup carries added weight for the Astros as they look to regroup and avoid letting momentum slip further. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -144, Guardians +121; over/under is 8 runs
Astros lineup for the finale
What stands out? First off, Jake Meyers returns to the lineup after missing a couple of games with a calf issue. With Meyers back in the two-spot, Cam Smith returns to hitting cleanup. Caratini is playing first base again and hitting fifth, followed by Yainer Diaz (C), Cooper Hummel (DH), Taylor Trammell (LF), and Mauricio Dubon (SS).
Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.
___________________________
ChatGPT assisted.
Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!