Updated

(SportsNetwork.com) - The beginning of a four-game road trip didn't go as planned for the Houston Rockets and they hope to find success Saturday against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.

The Rockets suffered an 83-80 loss at Atlanta Friday night, as James Harden led the way with 25 points and Dwight Howard ended with 15 and grabbed 11 rebounds. Aaron Brooks scored 13 points for the Rockets, losers in two straight and three of their last five games.

"We didn't matchup well in transition," said Rockets coach Kevin McHale. "They hurt us there at times. We couldn't make shots and we couldn't get the ball where we wanted to on the offensive end."

Houston dropped to 8-9 on the road and is now 10-3 against teams from the East. It will also visit Boston and New Orleans on the current jaunt.

Rockets forward Chandler Parsons missed his second straight game with a strained knee as well as hamstring and calf issues. Parsons is questionable Saturday and has posted an average of 17.2 points per game this season.

The Wizards also limp into Saturday's matchup having lost four of their last six games and three in a row at home. They went 2-1 on a three-game trip and failed in a bid for a road sweep with Friday's 93-66 loss at Indiana.

Bradley Beal and John Wall finished with 17 and 13 points, respectively, and Nene scored 12 points for Washington.

The Wizards shot just 32.1 percent and committed 14 turnovers, leading to 22 Indiana points. The Pacers and Wizards were tied at 18-18 after the first quarter, but the hosts pulled away after that and had a 28-15 advantage over the final 12 minutes.

"We weren't able to make shots and in the third quarter they came out with more energy than us," said Wall.

Washington is 7-8 at the Verizon Center this season and split a pair of meetings with Houston in 2012-13. The Rockets are 16-4 in the past 20 matchups with the Wizards and have won six of eight in D.C.