The Houston Rockets (11 - 12) defeated the Washington Wizards (9 - 11) 109 - 103 Wednesday at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. It was a matchup of two teams failing to live up to expectations, and both relied heavily on their star power to get through the matchup. After the Rockets jumped out to a 13 - point lead at the end of the first quarter, the Wizards bounced back with two impressive quarters of their own and entered the final period with a one - point edge. However, James Harden proved to be too much in the end for Washington. Harden finished with a game - high 42 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 40 minutes, and absolutely took over in the fourth quarter. Houston’s other star, Dwight Howard, shot just 1 - of - 4 from the field and finished with four points, but was active on the glass, grabbing nine rebounds. Corey Brewer (15), Patrick Beverly (14) and Clint Cappella (10) round out the four Houston players who scored in double figures. For the Wizards, John Wall did all he could to keep his team in the game, but it ultimately was not enough. The point guard finished with 26 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in 39 minutes, and while each of the other four starters scored in double figures, the team lacked production from their reserves. The four Washington players to come off the bench managed to score just 21 points. The team also did not do themselves any favors by recording 18 turnovers to just 20 assists. Up next, the Rockets will head home Saturday to take on the Lakers, while the Wizards will travel to New Orleans Friday to play the Pelicans.
["TeamStat(G,'Wizards') has 11 Losses ,has 103 Total points ,has 9 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Rockets') has 12 Losses ,has 109 Total points ,has 11 Wins ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Corey Brewer') has 4 Assists ,has 4 Defensive rebounds ,has 15 3-pointers attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Clint Capela') has 10 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Dwight Howard') has 4 Assists ,has 1 Defensive rebounds ,has 4 3-pointers attempted ,has 9 3-pointers made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'James Harden') has 7 Assists ,has 40 Defensive rebounds ,has 42 3-pointers attempted ,has 9 3-pointers made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Patrick Beverley') has 4 Assists ,has 4 Defensive rebounds ,has 4 3-pointers attempted ,has 14 3-pointers made ,has 4 Field goals attempted ."]