Last night was “Asian Night” at MCI Center, but anyone who came to see Chinese star Yao Ming saw him for only a little more than three quarters as his Houston Rockets toppled the Washington Wizards 93-80 before a crowd of 16,254.
Yao, the top pick in the 2002 draft, played just the first two minutes of the fourth quarter before sitting down, but his 21 points and 11 rebounds made him one of six Houston players who scored in double figures.
With its giant center watching from the bench, Houston outscored the Wizards 18-8 in the final minutes, with most of the points coming too close to the basket as far as Wizards coach Eddie Jordan was concerned.
“We didn’t play like men tonight,” Jordan said. “We didn’t have enough pride to protect the rim. Houston just came in, and they took the game from us. They took control of it. We didn’t grow up.”
This was the most disappointed Jordan has been following any of the Wizards’ losses this season and with good reason.
After the Wizards rallied at the start of the fourth quarter to close within 75-73, Washington showed how not to defend the basket in the remaining 9:02. Nearly every Houston basket in the final nine minutes came as a slam or a layup as Houston took advantage of Washington’s mental mistakes and poor team communication.
“They kept getting open looks close to the basket at the end of the game, and we didn’t,” said Larry Hughes, who led the Wizards (10-26) close with 23 points. “We didn’t compete. You can’t compete with a team that is shooting so close to the basket. At the end they were getting dunks, free throws and layups. By then it was basically over.”
Kwame Brown finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, and Jarvis Hayes came off the bench to add 13 points.
“We just didn’t do the things we’re supposed to do, the things we know we’re supposed to do if we are going to win games,” Hayes said. “You have to defend at the end if you are going to have a chance, and we didn’t do that at all.”
Houston (21-16) had three players — Jim Jackson, Cuttino Mobley and former Maryland star Steve Francis — finish with 16 points. Francis also had 10 assists and eight rebounds. The Rockets (21-16) made 51.5 percent (35 of 68) of their shots and had a 44-31 rebounding advantage.
Down by as many as 11 points late in the third quarter, Washington used an 8-2 run at the start of the fourth to draw within 75-73, a run that seemed to invigorate the spectators. But the Wizards offered little defensive resistance the rest of the way, even with Yao on the bench.
So was this a step in the wrong direction?
“It’s not lacking discipline,” Jordan said. “It’s just not knowing how to take another step up. You need a little bit more heart, a little bit more trust in your teammates, and you need to play intelligently. You have to know how to win. You have to have a feel for the game. We just don’t have a feel for how to win a game.”
Note — Because of an accident that snarled traffic on Interstate 95 between Baltimore and Washington, fans who did not make it to last night’s game may redeem tickets for the Wizards’ game against Seattle on Friday.
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