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- Since January 7, the Washington Wizards (16-37) are 10-4 playing against teams with winning records, including Friday’s 119-113 victory over the Denver Nuggets. That’s the good news. The random part during this stretch, they are only 2-5 against squads with sub-.500 records. Randy Wittman, any explanation for the discrepancy? “I can’t explain it, I don’t know what to tell you,” the Wizards coach said. “If I had the answer…”
- 34-year-old veteran center Jason Collins, acquired in the trade deadline deal that sent Jordan Crawford to the Celtics, joined the Wizards on Saturday but is inactive against the Rockets. Asked how he’s stuck around for so long, the 7-foot journeyman known mostly for defense and rebounding said, “12 years of being able to foul people. The stats aren’t pretty. I do what I do out there.” In six of his last seven seasons, Collins has generated more fouls than points. In 32 games with Boston this season, he has 74 fouls and 37 points
- The Rockets have won four straight over the Wizards, including a 99-93 victory in Houston on Jan. 12. James Harden, the NBA’s fifth-leading scorer entering the day, finished 31 points. Houston (31-26) is 2-0 since returning from the All-Star break.
- This week the Rockets acquired forwards Thomas Robinson and Tyler Honeycutt plus guard Francisco Garcia from the Kings. The trio is with the team, just not cleared to play for them yet. “They weren’t going to play anyway. It’s not fair play them without a practice,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “But I don’t know. I have no idea what’s going on. I thought they would be cleared tonight, but I don’t know. Tomorrow’s a new day.”
– Benjamin Standig
