ROCKETS DEFEAT WIZARDS

Jalen Green's 42 points lift the Rockets to their 6th straight win

Rockets Jalen Green
Rockets win again! Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

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.

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
The Astros can breathe a sigh of relief.Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images.

Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez has a strained muscle at the top of his right hand, a diagnosis that instills optimism he won’t have a prolonged stay on the injured list.

The three-time All-Star went on the 10-day injured list Monday, retroactive to Saturday, and returned to Houston for an MRI that revealed the muscle strain.

“We look at it as good news,” Astros manager Joe Espada said before their Wednesday afternoon game with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Espada expressed hope that Alvarez wouldn’t have to stay on the injured list longer than the required 10 days. He also said the hand issue may have played a role in Alvarez’s slow start.

Alvarez, 27, is hitting .210 with a .306 on-base percentage, three homers and 18 RBIs in 29 games this season. He batted .308 with a .392 on-base percentage, 35 homers and 86 RBIs in 147 games last year while ranking ninth in the AL Most Valuable Player balloting.

He has posted an OPS of at least .959 and has finished 13th or higher in the MVP voting each of the last three seasons.

“Once he heals, once he gets back, I think we’ll see a more aggressive at bat and be not as cautious,” Espada said. “I think it had something to do with it, yes.”

His potential return could go a long way toward boosting an Astros lineup that hasn’t been as productive as usual this season. The Astros entered Wednesday’s action ranked 21st in the majors in runs (136) and 23rd in OPS (.676). Houston has ranked 11th or better in both those categories each of the last four seasons.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome