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Rockets soar past Wizards

Fri 27th, January 2012

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - With leading scorer Kevin Martin out due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot, the Rockets still didn't have a problem handling the lowly Wizards on Friday night.

Chase Budinger returned from a three-game absence to score 21 points with eight rebounds as the Rockets used a strong second-half performance to take down the Wizards, 103-76.

"Chase (Budinger) made shots for us tonight, played wonderful defense, really moved his feet well, rebounded the ball, just played really really well," Rockets head coach Kevin McHale said.

Luis Scola added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who outscored the Wizards 59-35 in the second half. They have won eight of their last nine games.

John Wall had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Wizards, who turned the ball over 24 times. Washington fell to 0-8 away from home this season.

"They turned up their pressure, we were trying to throw cross-court passes, and you can't even get away with that in high school," Washington interim head coach Randy Whittman said. "We want to be up-tempo, we're athletic, and we want to run, but you have to take care of the ball. Houston had something to do with that."

With the Rockets already holding a 70-62 advantage with 2:32 to play in the third quarter, Houston used a 23-0 run in between the third and fourth stanzas to put the game away. Budinger had seven points during the surge.

The Wizards were held without a point for 7:57 until Nick Young finally snapped the run with a pull-up jumper to make it a 93-64 game with 6:38 to go in the contest.

Wall had eight points in the opening quarter as the Wizards took a 21-17 lead after a quarter of play.

The game remained tight in the second as the Rockets led by just three at the break, 44-41.

Game Notes

The Rockets moved to 8-2 at home this season...Courtney Lee filled Martin's void in the starting lineup and netted eight points...Young finished with 15 points...Houston outrebounded Washington 55-44.