• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Beal drops 33 as Wizards hold off Rockets

Dec 30, 2014 - 7:10 AM Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Bradley Beal deposited a season-high 33 points and John Wall posted another double-double as the Washington Wizards went on the road and beat the Houston Rockets, 104-103.

Beal made five of Washington's eight 3-pointers and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line. Wall tallied 13 points and 12 assists, his tenth double- double in 15 December games.

"I had a lot of open looks," said Beal. "It was just me playing with confidence."

With the win, the Wizards improved to 7-1 over their last eight games against Western Conference foes.

James Harden led five Rockets in double figures with 33 points. Josh Smith, in his third game with the club, had only three points with four turnovers on 1 of-6 from the field. Houston fell to 0-2 with Smith in the starting lineup.

"We just have to find a way to come together and play as a team," Rockets center Dwight Howard said.

Howard's layup on Houston's second possession of the second half was all it got over the first four-plus minutes. Washington was able to turn a one-point halftime lead to a 55-47 margin during that spurt.

The Wizards kept pressing. Paul Pierce scored on consecutive touches to force a timeout, and Wall scored twice and assisted on a Beal triple out of the huddle as Washington opened a 71-53 margin.

Houston rediscovered its mojo again in the fourth. Corey Brewer scored eight points in a four-minute window, including a 3-ball from the left wing that cut the deficit to two points. Out of a timeout, Harden hit a short jumper to tie the game at 84, but Washington responded.

Pierce found Nene for a layup at 4:54, Wall kicked to Beal for a 3 and Marcin Gortat finished at the rim to push the lead back to seven. It reached nine following a pair of Wall free throws. Again, Houston answered.

Harden canned one of his patented stepback jumpers and Brewer's steal led to a Patrick Beverley transition layup at the end of a 7-0 run.

But Washington held on despite a three-point play and a pair of deep, off- balance 3-pointers by Harden in the closing seconds. Beal made four free throws and Wall hit a pair in the final 30 seconds.

Earlier, the game was delayed nearly 30 minutes when a basket at Toyota Center had to be replaced. Forty eight seconds into the game, officials noticed one of the rims was crooked.

Game Notes

Pierce scored 21 points ... The Wizards have won four straight on the road ... Houston has lost four of six ... Brewer and Trevor Ariza both scored 15 points for Houston.