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Rockets keep Wizards winless on road

Dec 28, 2010 - 6:12 AM Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Kevin Martin finished with 20 points and Aaron Brooks scored 13 of his 15 in the fourth quarter as the Houston Rockets downed the Washington Wizards, 100-93, at Toyota Center.

Shane Battier also scored 15 and Luis Scola contributed 14 points for the Rockets, who reached .500 for the season (15-15) with their eighth straight win at home.

Kirk Hinrich led the Wizards with 19 points and Andray Blatche notched a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Wizards, who remained winless on the road (0-15) this season.

Nick Young scored 18 and rookie John Wall supplied 13 points and six assists off the bench in Washington's third straight loss.

"It's a tough loss. We felt like we gave it away. We had control until the last five minutes of the fourth quarter," Wizards forward Rashard Lewis said.

A Josh Howard jumper at 8:48 of the fourth quarter gave the Wizards an 84-75 lead, but two Chase Budinger free throws nine seconds later started a 12-2 Houston run to take the lead.

Courtney Lee's alley-oop layup at 8:16 moved the Rockets within 84-79, and after Blatche connected on a jump shot, Battier's bank shot and Brooks' three free throws made it a one-possession game.

Battier capped the run with a long three to put Houston up 87-86. Young made a mid-range jumper to give Washington back the lead, but Hayes connected on two free throws to move the Rockets up 89-88.

Hinrich and Martin then traded free throws, but Brooks widened the margin to 92-89 on a driving layup with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.

With the Houston lead still at one later on, Brooks and Martin both sank shots from beyond the arc to put the Rockets up for good, 100-93, with 1:50 remaining.

"As a team we played well in the fourth quarter. It started at the defensive end and then we all hit big shots," Brooks said.

Houston held a 28-27 lead after the first and the Wizards took a slim 48-47 lead at the half.

Despite shooting 31.8 percent from the field in the third quarter, the Wizards made 11-of-12 from the line to take a 73-68 advantage into the fourth.

Game Notes

Jordan Hill had 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Houston...The Rockets made 20-of-25 (80 percent) from the line, while Washington went 22- of-29 (75.9 percent)...Houston converted on 5-of-5 fast break chances...Lewis and Josh Howard both finished with 12 points in defeat. Lewis also grabbed nine rebounds.