Ariza, Lowry return to help lift Rockets
March 10, 2010
WASHINGTON (AP)—For the Houston Rockets, who need as many hands on deck aspossible to get out of the win-lose blahs, it was good enough simply to seeTrevor Ariza(notes) and Kyle Lowry(notes) back on the court.
Ariza returned after missing seven games with a left hip injury, and Lowrywas back after sitting out 12 games with a sprained left ankle. Neither wasspectacular, but both shook off the rust as the yo-yo Rockets moved back above.500 Tuesday night with a 96-88 win over the Washington Wizards.
“It’s good to be at full strength,” said Ariza, who played 28 minutes offthe bench, made 3 of 7 3-pointers and finished with 13 points. “Now we’ve gotto get in sync, back to our roles and understand what we’re trying to do.”
Washington Wizards forward Al … AP – Mar 9, 10:20 pm EST Houston Rockets guard Kevin Ma… AP – Mar 9, 10:06 pm EST
Houston Rockets guard Kevin Ma… AP – Mar 9, 10:04 pm EST
Washington Wizards guard Nick … AP – Mar 9, 10:01 pm EST
Washington Wizards guard Mike … AP – Mar 9, 9:54 pm EST
Houston Rockets forward Luis S… AP – Mar 9, 9:52 pm EST
Washington Wizards forward And… AP – Mar 9, 9:48 pm EST
Washington Wizards forward Al … AP – Mar 9, 9:39 pm EST
Washington Wizards forward And… AP – Mar 9, 8:18 pm EST
Houston Rockets forward Jordan… AP – Mar 9, 8:16 pm EST YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index = 9; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_lazy_images = [http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100310/capt.785747a35ed34d19844f4193d0d585ad.rockets_wizards_basketball_vzn109.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=291&hc=323&q=70&sig=Z_ceXg2asgTTTRJh.jD6Rg--,http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100310/capt.0891f9ae3e2c48e4bdb2c3d09a7c5c3e.rockets_wizards_basketball_vzn108.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=246&hc=273&q=70&sig=dSNohFg_znuHWUVTGrS9QA--,http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100310/capt.9bc35d5270cd4581b51d404764da4cf5.rockets_wizards_basketball_vzn107.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=302&hc=336&q=70&sig=xiOKntRnoxFKu44zbX70YA--,http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100310/capt.fabf50140bf7429da10da913acf4dfbe.rockets_wizards_basketball_vzn106.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=351&hc=390&q=70&sig=LciMa9OuAvPZPfWI4yII4g--,http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100310/capt.e981ca1a37fa49869f1c111efd4076e1.rockets_wizards_basketball_vzn105.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=287&hc=319&q=70&sig=jc5LEukfZ8Pzra_r4LStiQ--,http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100310/capt.9e1bacb14c0e4ab68e05a48e9ca9fc27.rockets_wizards_basketball_vzn104.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=293&hc=326&q=70&sig=05MbISHN85kTYZMw1C1pjQ--,http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100310/capt.7b39402e6e094d5183024cbe07a9a9b6.rockets_wizards_basketball_vzn103.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=349&hc=388&q=70&sig=ZRp5lMZgzsflcvsHIo8k6Q--,http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100310/capt.fa2ba7d4ef4542348dc9322f3a32265e.rockets_wizards_basketball_vzn102.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=287&hc=319&q=70&sig=dNC1NdGWBuo4_xM7Zqrj8w--,http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20100310/capt.64f68b1192264a2999cc88ffa8e78164.rockets_wizards_basketball_vzn101.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=1&yc=1&wc=323&hc=359&q=70&sig=bY_WS4NScRUwaucZg5Erxw--]; YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(window,load,YAHOO.Sports.articleLazyLoadCarousel.init); 1 of 10 Hou-Was Gallery function prev_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index > 0) { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index – 1); } else { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index); }}function next_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index 0) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next); }*/}function goto_photo(p) { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { for(i = 0; i < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos.length; i++) { if (i == p) { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, ); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, none); } } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page) { YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page.innerHTML =(p + 1); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = p; } } update_buttons();}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init = function () { YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_prev, click, prev_photo); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_next, click, next_photo); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = 0; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page = YAHOO.util.Dom.get(carousel_page); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos = YAHOO.util.Dom.getElementsByClassName(item, div, leadphoto); if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { goto_photo(0); }}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init();
Luis Scola(notes) had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Kevin Martin(notes) scored 21 pointsfor the Rockets, who took the lead for good midway through the second quarterand were hardly threatened in the second half by the Wizards, who have lost fourstraight and six of seven and drew a season-low 10,422 to the Verizon Center.
“I couldn’t make a shot, but we won a game—who cares?” said Lowry, whowent 1 for 6 from the field and finished with six points in 19 minutes. “Istepped wrong a few times and I’m a little sore, but other than that I’m fine.”
The Rockets entered the game as the consummate .500 team: alternating winsand losses over their last seven, scoring and allowing the same amount of points— 101.3—on the season. Time is running out to put together the type of winningstreak needed to snatch a Western Conference playoff berth.
“You just have to keep going for it, hope you do get that streak that cansend you in the other direction,” coach Rick Adelman said. “We’ve just kind ofbeen in ‘hit and miss’ over the last three weeks.”
A good place to start is the Wizards, who are still sporting awho-are-these-guys look after the suspension of Gilbert Arenas(notes) and thehouse-cleaning deals just before the trade deadline. Andray Blatche(notes), who hasbecome the go-to player by default, had 18 points and eight rebounds but alsofive turnovers and sat out the final 4 1/2 minutes in his first game after learningthe pitfalls of trash-talking Kevin Garnett(notes).
Wizards coach Flip Saunders said his team “choked” when they blew a13-point fourth-quarter lead in a loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, blamingit mainly on Blatche’s unwise decision to start mouthing off to Garnett,inspiring a Celtics rally.
This time, Saunders kept Blatche on the bench when Washington made a laterun to cut the lead to six in the final two minutes.
“Dray struggled—a lot,” Saunders said. “He wants to the carry the team,so he got into a situation where he tried to do almost a little bit too much. Wetook him out, we were down big, those guys came back. You reward the guys thatgot you there. … His biggest thing is he’s become a high-turnover player.”
Blatche said it was his worst game “by far” since he gained a moreprominent role in the second half of the season.
“I kept trying to fight harder and harder,” Blatche said, “and just madeit worse and worse for me.”
Nick Young(notes) added 18 points for the Wizards, and Al Thornton(notes) had 15.
Washington’s best spurt came on a 10-0 run in the first quarter, but theRockets were in charge the rest of the way, closing the first half with an 11-4run to go ahead 48-40 and pushing the lead to 18 in the third quarter on rookieJordan Hill’s(notes) dunk. Hill finished with 11 points, one shy of his career high,and matched his career high with eight rebounds.
Notes: Ariza didn’t start for the first time this season. Asked if he’d beOK with that, he said: “If we’re winning, I don’t mind, but that’s not up tome.” … Notable stat: Rockets dominated 24-8 in second-chance points. … Moreevidence of the Rockets’ up-and-down ways: They are 22-9 in games following aloss this season. … The Wizards signed Livingston to a second 10-day contract.… After a day off Wednesday, the Wizards will play three straight days as theysqueeze in the makeup game from the blizzard that hit Washington last month.“We’re going total AAU basketball after this,” Saunders said. “Games everyday.” … The last-place Wizards are so anxious to fill seats that that thedance girls wore tops urging fans to renew their season tickets.
