Dwight Howard ejected in back to back games as Houston Rockets Lose another

Following two consecutive losses to the West’s elite (Spurs, Thunder), the Houston Rockets lost their third game in a row, this time to the Washington Wizards on their home floor.

Appearing in their fifth game in seven nights, the Rockets were a step or two slower on both ends on the floor. Their defense was ferocious as they allowed the Wizards to score a season high 123 points in the loss.

Although they dug deep to find the extra motivation to close out the game, the Rockets failed to make any stops late the fourth. With the lost, the Rockets fall back to .500 on the season.

169. 123. 142. . 122

Rockets Player Grades

C. Houston Rockets. DWIGHT HOWARD. C+. Perhaps his ejection last night was a blessing in disguise. D12 had a tremendous start to the game, scoring 13 points within the first 12 minutes. This gave Howard his highest scoring quarter of the season. All was well unit Superman hyper extended his elbow late in the second quarter. Although the injury wasn’t anything too serious, it was enough to cool Howard down during the second half. Unfortunately, Howard allowed his opponents to get the best of his emotions, and received his second ejection in the last 48 hours. <em><strong>Come on Dwight you have to be smarter than this! </strong></em>20 points, 7 rebounds, 6/8 FT

B. After the impossible task of slowing down Kevin Dunant last game, it was easy to tell that Ariza had little to no energy against his former team. Ariza’s night got off to a bad start as he missed his first three shots. However, when the Rockets needed someone other than Harden to score in the fourth, Ariza was clutch. 17 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steals.. SF. Houston Rockets. TREVOR ARIZA

D-. After one of his best performances of the season, Brewer was a non factor this game. He could not get in a rhythm on offense, and his defense was non existing. 5 points.. SG. Houston Rockets. COREY BREWER

SG. Houston Rockets. JAMES HARDEN. A+. His <span style=

C+. In his second consecutive night guarding one of the NBA’s elite point guards, Beverley was determined not to be outplayed by another All-Star. He came out aggressive scoring 10 points, and held John Wall under 40 percent (8 points). Though he continued to be aggressive on offense his defense lacked much to be desired in the second half. 15 points, 5 assists.<span style=. PG. Houston Rockets. PATRICK BEVERLEY

Best Reserve

On a quiet night from their second unit, Smith was the most effective player off the bench for the Rockets. 9 points.. PF. Houston Rockets. JOSH SMITH. C

Best Opponent:

PG. Washington Wizards. JOHN WALL. B+. Well this isn’t a surprise to Rockets fans. Thanks to the solid defense from Beverley, Wall did not have a great start to the night. However, what makes Wall one of the top point guards in the Association is his great play making abilities. When Wall could not get his shot to fall in the first half, he put on a passing display for his team. However, when the Wizards needed points in the fourth, the Rockets ran into a wall (pun intended). 19 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks.

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