Scola scores 23, Martin 21, yo-yo Rockets move back above .500 with 96-88 win over the Wizards

Yo-yo Rockets back above .500, beat Wizards 96-88

WASHINGTON — Luis Scola had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Kevin Martin scored 21 points, and the yo-yo Houston Rockets moved back above .500 Tuesday night with a 96-88 win over the Washington Wizards.

The Rockets took the lead for good midway through the second quarter and were hardly threatened in the second half by the Wizards, who have lost four straight and six of seven.

Aaron Brooks added 14 points and Trevor Ariza returned from an injury to score 13 for the Rockets, who won despite shooting 38 percent to the Wizards’ 42. It helped that Houston forced 18 turnovers and had the advantage at the free throw line, going 24 for 28 to Washington’s 15 for 16.

The Rockets entered the game as the consummate .500 team: alternating wins and losses over their last seven, scoring and allowing the same amount of points — 101.3 — on the season. Coach Rick Adelman called his team “hit and miss” and said it needs to “get that streak that can send you in the other direction” toward playoff contention.

A good place to start was with the Wizards, who are still sporting a who-are-these-guys look after the suspension of Gilbert Arenas and the house-cleaning deals just before the trade deadline. Andray Blatche, who has become the go-to player by default, had 18 points and eight rebounds but sat out the final 4½ minutes in his first game after learning the pitfalls of trash-talking Kevin Garnett.

Wizards coach Flip Saunders said his team “choked” when they blew a 13-point fourth-quarter lead in a loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, blaming it mainly on Blatche’s unwise decision to start mouthing off to Garnett, inspiring a Celtics rally. This time, Saunders kept Blatche on the bench when Washington made a late run, cutting the lead to six in the final two minutes.

Nick Young added 18 points for the Wizards, and Al Thornton had 15.

Washington’s best spurt came on a 10-0 run in the first quarter. The Rockets were in charge the rest of the way, closing the first half with an 11-4 run to take a 48-40 lead and pushing the lead to 18 in the third quarter on rookie Jordan Hill’s dunk. Hill finished with 11 points, one shy of his career high, and matched his career high with eight rebounds.

The Wizards tried to make a game of it late in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to eight on Young’s 3-pointer with 3:14 to play, and got it down to six on Shaun Livingston’s jumper with 1:12 remaining. But the Rockets went 4 for 4 from the free throw line in the final minute to hang on for the win.

Notes: Houston G Kyle Lowry returned after missing 12 games with a sprained left ankle, and Ariza was back after sitting out seven games with a left hip injury. … Saunders and Thornton were both whistled for technical fouls in the second half. … More evidence of the Rockets’ up-and-down ways: They are 22-9 in games following a loss this season. … The Wizards signed Livingston to a second 10-day contract. … After a day off Wednesday, the Wizards will play three straight days — Thursday, Friday and Saturday — as they squeeze in the makeup game from the blizzard that hit Washington last month. “We’re going total AAU basketball after this,” Saunders said. “Games every day.” … The attendance was 10,422 a season-low at the Verizon Center. The last-place Wizards are so anxious to fill seats that that the dance girls wore tops urging fans to renew their season tickets.