Rockets visit Washington in search of 3rd straight win

The Houston Rockets will go for their third straight win when they visit the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night to tip-off a four-game road trip.

Houston is coming off an emotional win as Russell Westbrook and the Rockets used their defense to defeat his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-112 on Monday night.

After a sluggish first half, the Rockets opened the third quarter with a 17-4 run to erase a 10-point halftime deficit.

"We picked up our defensive intensity," James Harden said. "That's going to be what gets us over the top, what gets us where we want to go. We got a little lackadaisical in the first half. Second half we picked it up and look at the results."

Harden scored 40 points and Westbrook compiled 21 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, just missing his 140th career triple-double. Harden hit four free throws in the final 13 seconds to seal the win.

Houston trailed former Rocket Chris Paul and the Thunder 35-22 after 12 minutes and 62-52 at halftime.

"It's early in the season and everybody's trying to get their legs," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters. "They're trying to get in NBA shape, game shape. ... But they turned it on, which meant they had it in the first place."

Forward PJ Tucker continued his strong start with 17 points. Through three games he's averaging 16.7 points on 64.3 percent field-goal shooting, including 12-of-18 from 3-point range.

The Wizards will be making their home debut after going 1-2 on their season-opening three-game road trip.

They closed the trip with a 124-122 loss at San Antonio while playing the second of a back-to-back. The game featured 23 lead changes and 17 ties.

"We are going to be a team that is effort, together, and team based," coach Scott Brooks said. "If you can do those things, then we are going to be in good shape and win our share of games. San Antonio is obviously a great team and coach, but our guys battled and fought, and it could have gone either way."

Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 25 points and 11 assists, while Davis Bertans added 23 in his return to San Antonio. Ish Smith scored 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and paced the team in the first half.

Rookie Rui Hachimura and point guard Isaiah Thomas both scored 16 points. Through three games, Hachimura is now averaging 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds.

Thomas, who played in an NBA game for the first time in six months, made 6-of-12 field goals in his season debut. He added five assists and three rebounds while committing two turnovers and is expected to help fill the void created by All-Star John Wall's absence.

"He plays with toughness, and obviously there was rust tonight, and he is unsure of himself on the offensive end with the rhythm of our plays and with the strengths and weaknesses of the players out there," Brooks said of Thomas. "It will all come along, and it's a long process."

Beal is still looking to find his shooting form. A career 45 percent shooter from the field, Beal is hitting just 30.6 percent through three games, including 7-of-30 from beyond the arc.

--Field Level Media