The Wizards walked into the Toyota Center on Wednesday evening boasting a three-game winning streak but were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, coming off a hard-fought battle in Dallas less than 24 hours earlier. It took the Wizards some time to get going, but once they did, it was enough for a win over the Rockets. A fourth-quarter scoring push from Kyle Kuzma lifted Washington to a 108-103 victory.
BATTLING THROUGH A SLOW START
Playing on the second night of a road back-to-back is one of the hardest things to do in the NBA, especially when the first game was as emotionally and physically draining as the 48-minute battle that resulted in a one-point win in Dallas. That's what the Wizards were struggling with Wednesday night in Houston.
"Not the prettiest game," said Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. "Didn't have the energy in that first half. Just came out a little sluggish."
The Rockets brought the energy right away, connecting on their first four shots and jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the first 90 seconds. The Rockets continued to look solid for the bulk of the first quarter, and the Wizards struggled to make shots.
In the second quarter, things got even worse for the Wizards. They went ice-cold from three-point range and couldn't generate any sort of consistency on offense. The Rockets got their lead up to 19 points late in the second quarter, but the Wizards widdled it down to 15 at the break, trailing 58-43. The Wizards shot a brutal 4-of-20 from deep in the first half.
Then, in the second half, Washington turned up the pressure. They buckled down on defense (Houston didn't make a single three-pointer in the third quarter), but their offense was still struggling. Going into the final frame, the Wizards were down 10 points. That's when everything flipped upside down.
The Wizards started the fourth quarter on a roll, outscoring the Rockets 23-4 to open the period, giving them their first lead of the game. From there, the Wizards never relinquished their lead. It was curtains for the Rockets.
KYLE KUZMA COOKING
Similar to the Wizards as a whole, Kuzma had a tough start to the game. At halftime, he only had four points and was having a difficult time getting himself involved on the offensive end of the floor. Coming out of the locker room after halftime, it looked like he had a mentality shift. He started getting downhill and attacking the rim relentlessly. He scored nine points in the third quarter.
Then, in the fourth quarter, Kuzma morphed into a microwave, heating up in a matter of moments. Kuzma played all 12 minutes in the fourth and poured in 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting from three-point land. A human highlight reel, Kuzma brought his game total up to 33 points on 12-of-25 shooting from the field and helped boost the Wizards to their fourth-straight win.
KENDRICK NUNN'S DEBUT
Combo guard Kendrick Nunn (acquired via trade from the Lakers on Monday) made his Wizards debut in the second quarter of Wednesday's game in Houston. He took a few minutes to get acclimated to the flow of his new team, and then inserted himself nicely and made some of the biggest plays of the game in the second half.
At the start of the fourth quarter, in the middle of the Wizards' 23-4 run, Nunn had back-to-back possessions of pure brilliance. First, he drove down the lane and hammered home a nasty one-handed slam. Then, he hit a streaking Kuzma with a sleek behind-the-back pass for a layup. Those plays injected a bolt of lightning into the Wizards team, shifting the energy for the rest of the game.
Nunn finished the game with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting from deep to go along with four rebounds, four assists, two steals, and zero turnovers.
"I thought he was good," said Unseld Jr. when asked about Nunn. "He made a heck of a play down the gut for a dunk. I thought that really kind of got the group going. He's a good player. He's got the ability to fill it up, play out of pick-and-rolls. He can score."
Welcome to the Wizards, Kendrick Nunn.