"As Chase Budinger went through his pregame shooting drills, there was none of his usual pregame cheeriness. There was little conversation, none of his frequent showy slams on his way off the court.

Budinger was in no mood to goof around after a run of games stuck on the bench. He also believed his chance to return to the floor was coming with Kevin Martin out.

Either way, when Budinger got his chance, he jolted the Rockets out of some first-half doldrums en route to a 103-76 blowout of the Washington Wizards on Friday night at Toyota Center, their biggest rout of the season.

"It was very (difficult), especially when you've been playing for a couple of years, getting consistent minutes," Budinger said of falling out of the Rockets' rotation soon after Courtney Lee returned from a calf injury. "You just have to be a professional in this circumstance, be ready and wait for an opportunity like I got tonight."

Budinger had not left the bench in the previous three games and sat through a half of several others.

With a chance to earn playing time, Budinger made the most of it, scoring 21 points with eight rebounds, both season highs, in 25 minutes. His 11 first-half points snapped the Rockets from an offensive funk, putting them in position for the 23-0 run in the second half that turned the game into a rout."