Rockets continue road trip; Wall returns for Wizards

WASHINGTON -- While James Harden and the Houston Rockets aim for better results on their five-game road trip, the Washington Wizards hope the return of John Wall leads to a needed win.

The Rockets (3-3) and Wizards (1-3) meet for the first of two games this season on Monday night after both sides lost on the road Saturday.

Harden nearly pulled off a triple-double, but his 30 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in Atlanta were in vain as the Hawks controlled the Rockets for a 112-97 win.

Houston committed 25 turnovers, including six by Harden, and Atlanta shot 52.9 percent from the field.

The Atlanta frontcourt of Dwight Howard, Paul Millsap and Kent Bazemore combined for 63 points on 25-of-42 shooting from the field as the Rockets fell to 1-2 on their road swing.

"At some point, we've got to guard a guy," Houston coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We didn't really get down and guard. We didn't battle hard enough."

Harden ranks fourth in the NBA in scoring (31.5) and leads all players with 12.3 assists.

Wall's 10.0 assists slots Washington's point guard third overall. He'll have a chance to improve that stat after sitting out Saturday's 88-86 loss at Orlando.

The Wizards' plan, according to coach Scott Brooks, involves resting the three-time All-Star in back-to-back game scenarios for the time being after Wall had two knee procedures during the offseason.

The Wizards led 70-61 entering the fourth quarter on Saturday but soon fell back as the Magic scored 16 straight points. Late-game fades and spotty bench production have provided with an unwanted narrative early in the season.

"We have to find a way to be able to get stops and to be able to score the ball," Wizards guard Bradley Beal said. "We have to do one or the other. The biggest thing we can control is our defense and that is all about effort and just wanting to play.

"I think Coach is pretty fed up with the way we are playing and I think he is going to start playing guys who want to play and guys who want to show up."

Markieff Morris led the Wizards with 18 points, but his 3-point attempt at the buzzer missed after Washington took possession with 0.7 of a second remaining.

"We had a good look," Brooks said of Morris' open shot off the inbounds pass. "We cannot complain about having a chance to win the game on the road on a back-to-back. Our guys battled hard. They have nothing to be ashamed of.

"Unfortunately, we didn't get the win. We played well enough to win this game, though."

The meeting is the first for former Wizards player Nene against his former team after playing parts of the previous five seasons in Washington. The Brazilian big man was a main cog for a team that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals in back-to-back seasons but missed the postseason with a 41-41 record in the previous season.

Nene, who never played more than 67 games in a season with the Wizards, signed a one-year deal with Houston after Washington inked center Ian Mahinmi to a four-year, $64 million contract. The irony is Mahinmi has yet to play this season after suffering a knee injury.