The Washington Wizards continued to be on the losing end on Tuesday, dropping a 123-118 decision to the Houston Rockets for their fifth straight defeat and eighth in their last 10 games. At the very least, their soon-to-be main man, Trae Young, made his presence felt, though in the wrong but historic kind of way.
Washington actually started off strong, racing out to a 30-26 lead after one. But the Rockets gradually took control, first seizing the lead with a 34-21 second quarter and then extending it in the third.
That’s when Trae Young, acquired from the Atlanta Hawks near the trade deadline, made his presence felt and made history.
Trae Young Records First Stats as a Wizard
With less than three minutes left in the third, Rockets forward Tari Eason shoved the Wizards’ Jamir Watkins during a Houston offensive possession. However, no call was made, and that prompted Young to confront the officials in Washington’s ensuing possession.
The veteran guard, though, appeared to be overly animated with his protestations, as he was hit with a technical foul. It didn’t stop Young. Instead, he continued to protest and even walked onto the playing court, resulting in a second technical foul and an automatic ejection.
So, Trae Young’s stats with his new team are as follows: 2 technical fouls and an ejection. And he hadn’t even logged a single second of on-court action for Washington!
According to Rebanse’s research, Young’s ejection might have been a first in NBA history—he could have been the first player to get ejected before making his official debut for his new team.
Rockets Roll
Unfortunately for the Wizards, Young’s ejection couldn’t fire the team up enough to climb out of the double-digit hole they were in at the start of the fourth quarter, as the Rockets rolled to their seventh win in the last 10 games.
Alperen Sengun paced Houston with 32 points and 13 rebounds, followed by Kevin Durant’s 30 points and 7 rebounds. Amen Thompson added 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Reed Sheppard chipped in 19 markers, 7 caroms, and 10 dimes. Bilal Coulibaly topscored for Washington with 23 markers.
Trae Young, for his part, is expected to make his Wizards debut on Friday when they take on the Utah Jazz. The 4-time All-Star also took to X to make light of his ejection, telling fans he won’t be “ejected too many more times” and promising to bring energy and competitiveness.
