Wizards 104, Rockets 103: Bradley Beal scored nine of his season-high 33 points in the final five minutes as Washington held off a late charge from host Houston.

Paul Pierce scored 21 points and John Wall collected 13 points and 12 assists as the Wizards picked up their third straight win. Beal went 10-of-10 at the free-throw line and Wall knocked down two from the stripe in the final seconds for the Wizards, who were 26-of-28 from the line.

James Harden scored nine of his 33 points in the final 12 seconds to make things interesting for the Rockets. Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer scored 15 points apiece and Dwight Howard contributed 13 as Houston dropped its second straight and fell for the fourth time in six games.

The Rockets trailed by 18 points late in the third quarter but whittled that deficit down to 84-82 when Brewer buried a 3-pointer with 6:20 to play and tied it on Harden’s jumper just over a minute later. Nene put the Wizards back in front with a layup and Beal nailed a 3-pointer during a 9-0 run, and Pierce’s 3-pointer with 1:12 left helped hold off a late Houston run as Washington put it away.

Beal buried a pair of 3-pointers in a 6-0 run to send the Wizards into the half with a 46-45 lead. Washington carried that momentum into the third quarter, beginning the period with a 25-8 run capped by Beal’s 3-pointer and a layup from Wall to grab a 71-53 lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The game was delayed 45 minutes right after the opening tip when the officials realized that one of the rims was crooked and a replacement was brought in. … Rockets F Josh Smith went 1-of-6 from the field and has totaled eight points in two games since joining the starting lineup. … Brewer has scored in double figures in all four games since joining Houston.