Houston Rockets Defeat Washington Wizards as Wall and Westbrook Clash, 107-88

John Wall and Russell Westbrook met for the first time since the trade that saw them switching uniforms, and the things were pretty intense. The Rockets outplayed Wizards 107-88, with the two fantastic guards being in the middle of attention.

They had one pretty intense trash talk that saw the officials giving tech to both to calm down the situation. While on one side, Wall spoke about that without any emotions following the match, saying that it was just another “basketball trash talk.” Meanwhile, Westbrook was more direct, using some tough words, suggesting that his rivals took advantage of the fact that their team started pulling away to provoke him.

“I defend myself because I don’t just allow people to say just anything…I think Wall and DeMarcus Cousins just started talking, because they just started to win, started winning at that time.”

Wall had a massive motive to prove himself tonight, as he didn’t expect to be traded following ten years of playing in DC. The former No.1 pick selected by the Wizards had problems with troubles over the past two years, and it appears that the organization saw him as a liability and a burden.

“They came and watched me. I thought they thought I was done. That’s why I came out here and did what I did,” Wall explained.

On a couple of occasions, Wall was pretty pumped up and sent some messages to the former teammates, yelling and gesticulating towards the Wizards’ bench.

In just 24 minutes on the floor, he dropped 24 points, with five assists, and not such a great shooting percentage, 9-for-21, and one three six shots.

The new acquisition from the Indiana Pacers, Victor Oladipo, had 20 points with 5 boards, while Eric Gordon came off the bench scoring 20 buckets, with four assists.

Boogie Cousins also had a nice role awarded with a double-double, 19 points, and 11 boards with five steals, a game-high. Cousins made four threes in eight shots.

The guests were up in the first period and even had a seven-point lead during that sequence. After that, Washington would lose that advantage and start trailing, but managed to come back at the end of the third, and be up three points, 68-65. Scot Brooks’ side just collapsed following that push, allowing the home team to outscore them 32-18 in the final 12 minutes.

It is very important to say that the Wizards shot 5-for-26 from downtown, which is not characteristic for them. Even though they aren’t among the top shooting teams in the league, this percentage is way too low for them.

Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook were 2-for-9 for threes combined. Beal ended with 33 points, five boards, and four assists, while Westbrook had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. These two guys had 11 turnovers committed.

Robin Lopez scored 10 points, and he was the only one besides the above-mentioned duo to have double-digit points.

Washington moves to New Orleans now to face the Pelicans already tonight, and after that, have two home matches. The first is against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday and the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. It will be interesting to see Westbrook against Durant and Harden.

The Rockets are hosting the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday and then hit the road for a four-game journey that kicks-off in New Orleans against the Pelicans. Wall and the Co. then have back-to-back matches in Oklahoma City against the Thunder and finish the tourney in Memphis vs. Grizzlies.