Rockets at Wizards final score: Houston survives rain delay in 114-107 win over Washington

The title says it all. There was a rain delay during an NBA basketball game on Saturday night, and while we already brought you word of the madness in the nation’s capital, there was still a basketball game to be played.

James Harden, Dwight Howard, and the Houston Rockets defeated the Washington Wizards by a final score of 114-107, but there were plenty of storylines to go along with a 7-point victory. In addition to rain delays of 35 and 22 minutes, respectively, the Rockets shot more than 52% from the field in achieving those 114 points, and they placed four players with 18-or-more points in a total team effort.

Houston’s “big two” both came to play in this one, as Harden finished with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Howard scored 23 points and added 7 rebounds. Still, it wasn’t just those two doing the damage for Houston, and young power forward Terrence Jones may have had the best overall game for the Rockets. Jones scored 19 points, grabbed a staggering 17 rebounds, and added 3 blocks to nearly overshadow his frontcourt mate in Howard, and that was a continuation of a big-time season from Jones.

It’s easy to believe that the Rockets cruised to this win, but even if it seemed like they would, it was a struggle. Houston led by as many as 25 points but actually surrendered the lead in falling behind by as many as 5 before finishing things off in the 4th. The rain delay may have helped the road-weary Rockets, as they dropped an ugly, close game in Atlanta on Friday night, and the break would’ve given them some additional breathing time in a back-to-back situation.

At 24-14, Houston is exactly where they needed to be while still integrating Howard and the new parts of their roster, and with plenty of time to develop, they are a very dangerous ball club.