A roller coaster ride for the Wiz rooks.
On Sunday, the Washington Wizards faced a formidable opponent in the Houston Rockets, who featured SL MVP Cam Whitmore from the previous season. In Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center, the good guys were defeated 109-91.
The first half saw the Wizards outworked and outrebounded 30 to 15 in the first two quarters. The ten turnovers did not help either, as Washington trailed by 59 points at the intermission.
With 12 points on 5/8 shooting in the half, Justin Champagnie was leading the way. Jules Bernard scored nine more points.
In the third quarter, Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington assisted the Wizards in rallying. After three quarters, the two rookies each sank two triples as Washington put together a 13-2 run to cut the score to 81-72.
However, the fourth quarter saw the Rockets win the game handily. Orlando Robinson, a seasoned big for the Rockets who once led Houston with 12 straight points in the closing minutes, essentially mistreated Alex Sarr. Robinson, who primarily faced Sarr, finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds.
Sarr finished with eight points and four rebounds on 4/14 shooting and 0/5 from deep. He settled for way too many jumpers and didn’t seem too interested in attacking the basket. Sarr’s slight frame was evident as he got pushed around quite a bit.
Carrington and George combined for 32 points and seven triples. George showed his potential as an ideal 3-and-D player. He needed just six field goal attempts to get to 14 points.
Carrington occasionally pushed the shot, missing the mark by 5/16. When he was on the court, though, he shown a strong feel for the lead guard position and gave out a team-high five assists.
Is there anything new from Johnny Davis? On 5/8 shooting, the third-year guard finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
On Tuesday, the Wizards take on the Portland Trail Blazers once more.
