Houston @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 2, 2017 ) Washington 91, Houston 101

The Houston Rockets dropped just four of their first 29 games but suddenly are losers of four straight contests entering Friday's meeting with the host Washington Wizards. Houston allowed a 26-point, third-quarter lead get away against Boston on Thursday and dropped a 99-98 decision.

Point guard Chris Paul (groin) could miss his fourth straight game, and the Rockets are 15-1 when he has played this season and 10-7 when he sits out. Star guard James Harden recorded 34 points and 10 assists in the loss to Boston but was called for two offensive fouls in the final 7.3 seconds. "It doesn't really matter," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters of the charge calls. "I'm worried more about the 24 points (the 62-38 halftime lead) we gave up, that's what I worry about." Washington repeatedly has played down to the competition this season, and it was never more evident than on Wednesday as NBA-worst Atlanta controlled play and handed the Wizards a 113-99 defeat.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston), NBCSN Washington

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (25-8): Harden blistered the officiating after Thursday's loss as only two referees were on the floor after Mark Lindsay suffered a back injury during pregame warmups. "Well, first of all, I'm wondering how do you only have two officials on a national TV game? That's the first question," Harden told reporters. "A lot of grabbing, a lot of holding. I mean, how else am I supposed to get open? Gotta ask with two arms wrapped around my whole body." The 98-point effort ended Houston's streak of 25 straight games with 100 or more points and marked just the third time it failed to reach the century mark this season.

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (19-16): Four-time All-Star point guard John Wall was miffed over the loss to the Hawks and inferred some of his teammates are more worried about accumulating stats than posting victories. Bradley Beal also spoke up and stated there is too much selfishness on both ends of the floor. "Sometimes even myself included," Beal told reporters. "Sometimes we do one-pass shots, no-pass shots. Two or three passes on one side of the floor versus moving on both sides of the floor. Teams are going to load up on me and John. That's something that we should know by now. We got to do a better job of creating, putting the ball on the floor and moving it."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Rockets have won each of their last four visits to Washington.

2. Wizards PF Markieff Morris is averaging 16 points on 17-of-27 shooting over his last three games.

3. Houston signed veteran swingman Gerald Green on Thursday and he was scoreless in 11 minutes against the Celtics.

PREDICTION: Rockets 116, Wizards 112