Washington Wizards vs Houston Rockets: Lineups, preview & prediction 4/3/18


Houston (62-15) have wrapped up home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs as the top seed but had their 11-game winning streak snapped Sunday with a 100-83 loss at San Antonio.

James Harden scored 25 points and Eric Gordon added 18, but the Rockets shot a season-low 33.8 percent as they rested Chris Paul, who sat out for the fifth time in six games due to a hip injury. Houston also made a season-low seven 3-pointers, just the fourth time this season they were held under double digits in treys.

Washington (42-35) finally clinched a playoff berth Saturday night, then had an absolute clunker the following day against Chicago with a 113-94 defeat to the 51-loss Bulls. The Wizards held out John Wall, who made his return Saturday night against Charlotte and had 15 points and 14 assists after missing 27 games following knee surgery, since they were playing on back-to-back days.

The loss prevented them from gaining any separation on Miami, whom they lead by one game for the Southeast Division title, and all but assured the Wizards they would finish no better than the No. 6 seed as they trail Indiana by four games with five remaining.

While this is the second game of a three-game road swing for Washington, the last two legs will be challenging since they also play at Cleveland on Thursday night.

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