NBA Game Summary - Houston at Washington

Washington, DC (Basketball News) - Gilbert Arenas had a game-high 33 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Washington Wizards past the Houston Rockets, 101-98, at the MCI Center.

Larry Hughes returned from a thumb injury and added 31 points for the Wizards, who snapped a two-game losing streak and won for just the second time in their last seven games.

Hughes, who had not played since January 15, has scored 20 or more points in 11 straight games.

Tracy McGrady had 26 points, nine boards and seven assists for Houston, which lost for the fourth time in its last five tries. Mike James contributed 24 points and seven assists in the loss.

Trailing by two entering the fourth quarter and as many as 17 in the second half, the Rockets went up by seven in the final 12 minutes and led 89-82 on Juwan Howard’s jumper with 5:18 left in the game.

The Wizards, though, reeled off a 13-2 run to go back up by five, as Brendan Haywood’s layup capped the spurt with 2:19 to play. Washington then led the rest of the way.

"We got up and made mistake after mistake," said Houston head coach Jeff Van Gundy. "In the first half our problems were more offensively but the board continues to be a problem. We got manhandled again."

Houston had a chance to tie the game late, but McGrady, who had pulled the Rockets within a point moments earlier with a three-pointer, missed a trey at buzzer, despite getting off a good shot.

"Actually, I thought it was in," said McGrady. "It felt good coming off my hands but it was a little long. I definitely thought it was good."

Tied at 16, the Wizards closed the first quarter with a 12-1 run to carry an 11-point advantage into the second. Arenas and Hughes contributed all the points to the late run.

Houston opened the second by scoring the first eight points of the stanza and sliced the deficit to three, 28-25. The Wizards, though, never relinquished the lead in the quarter and went into the locker room with a seven-point advantage, 47-40.

Arenas led all scorers with 16 points in the half, while Hughes and Antawn Jamison each had 10. James paced the Rockets with 12 points in the first 24 minutes.

Washington continued to carry the momentum out of the break and used a 12-2 run to start the third to open its biggest lead of the contest, 59-42. Houston, though, regrouped and scored 13 of the next 14 points to narrow the gap to five.

The Wizards quickly went back up by double-digits, but the Rockets answered right back and eventually grabbed the lead, 71-70, on David Wesley’s three- pointer. However, Washington went into the final 12 minutes with a 73-71 advantage.