Up-and-down affair for the Wiz rooks.
The Washington Wizards ran into a Summer League buzzsaw on Sunday in the form of the Houston Rockets, who trotted out last season’s SL MVP Cam Whitmore. The good guys lost 109-91 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The Wizards were outworked in the first half, getting out-rebounded 30-15 in the opening two quarters. The 10 turnovers didn’t help either as Washington fell behind 59-44 at the break.
Justin Champagnie led the way at the half with 12 points on 5/8 shooting. Jules Bernard added 9 points.
Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George helped the Wizards claw back in the third quarter. The two rookies each drained a pair of triples in Q3 as Washington mounted a 13-2 run to trim the lead to 81-72 after three.
But the Rockets put the game away in the fourth quarter. Alex Sarr was pretty much abused by Rockets veteran center Orlando Robinson, who at one point scored 12 straight points for Houston in the final frame. Robinson posted 22 points and 15 rebounds while mostly matching up against Sarr.
Sarr finished with eight points and four rebounds on 4/14 shooting and 0/5 from deep. He settled for way too many jumpers and didn’t seem too interested in attacking the basket. Sarr’s slight frame was evident as he got pushed around quite a bit.
Carrington and George combined for 32 points and seven triples. George showed his potential as an ideal 3-and-D player. He needed just six field goal attempts to get to 14 points.
24th pick Kyshawn George knocking down the side-step triple!
Rockets-Wizards | Live on ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/xxSoFWMLCf
— NBA (@NBA) July 14, 2024
Carrington forced his shot at times, going 5/16 from the floor. But he did show a good feel for the lead guard role when he was on the floor and dished out a team-high five assists.
Some signs of life from Johnny Davis? The third-year guard tallied 15 points and six rebounds on 5/8 shooting.
The Wizards play again on Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers.