Dwight Howard looks great in season debut, but stumbling Wizards hammered again by Thunder

Dwight Howard was finding room to work in the paint, shots were falling from the outside and the Washington Wizards appeared to finally have things figured out.

For about three minutes. Then the wheels came off against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Washington immediately went into a tailspin, coughed up a double-digit lead and fell behind big before getting booed off the floor at halftime. It finally ended in a dispiriting 134-111 rout that left a team that was already calling each other out publicly at 1-7 and positively reeling.

Howard made his season debut and initially appeared to be the spark the stumbling Wizards needed. He had a dunk and drew a foul for a 3-point play on Washington's first possession. Howard made his first six shots and had 13 points in nine minutes in the first quarter.

"I thought we had a good start. Obviously, Dwight was a bright spot," said Wizards coach Scott Brooks. "We were hoping he'd come in and set the tone, and I thought he did."

The veteran big man, starting his 15th season, finished with 20 points and shot 7-of-8 from the field and 6-of-8 from the foul line. He appeared fresh after missing the first seven games of the season with a strained muscle in his buttocks. He started and played 23 minutes.

Howard's early impact was quickly squandered.

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The Wizards hit their first seven shots from the field to take a 17-7 lead with 8:52 left in the first. But the Thunder responded with eight quick points to pull within two, then scored the last nine of the quarter for a 35-30 lead.

"They got layups after layups, wide-open 3s," said John Wall, who had 19 points and nine assists for the Wizards. "They did whatever they wanted."

Wall added: "It just looks like nobody is on the same page."

Washington wouldn't sniff the lead again as Oklahoma City blew things open with a 44-point second quarter. The Wizards turned the ball over 14 times in the first half and shot 3-of-12 from long range.

The Thunder pushed the lead to 12 in the first three minutes of the second quarter, and to 21 within another five minutes. Paul George made three straight 3-point attempts late in the second. The last capped an 8-0 run to close the quarter that put the Thunder ahead 79-50 at the break and brought out the Washington boo-birds.

Washington is now tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. The Wizards have rebounded from slow starts before, but they understand they can't afford to fall too far back, even in a wide-open playoff race.

"We just got to stay positive, stay focused and not allow moments like this to kill the atmosphere," said Howard.

Added Kelly Oubre Jr.: "We're not this bad. I don't believe that in my heart."

Follow Matt Eppers on Twitter @meppers_.