Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat bounce back at home, taking down the Rockets

The two-game losing streak was snapped against the team with the league’s fifth-best record, thanks in major part to the defense making them inefficient in the paint. 

The Rockets took an early 10-point lead, but stalled the rest of the first quarter despite Kevin Durant getting stronger after exchanging unfriendly words with Tyler Herro. The Heat went on a 28-14 run to close it, with big contributions from Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the restricted area, plus Bam Adebayo and Davion Mitchell had multiple baskets apiece. 

The Heat led by as much as 13 points early in the second quarter, yet they went colder than freezing temperature. Their zone was active at times, but they went to halftime down one after conceding four 3-pointers at the wings and corner. 

They subsequently came out of the break, getting to the heart of the defense four times before the first timeout. Herro started pressing, but the Heat got a bit of help from Alperen Şengün, Houston’s All-Star center, picking up his fourth foul and having to come out. The period saw eight lead changes as the Heat did their best to survive Durant’s playmaking, plus his scoring at mid and short distances. 

Then Jaquez carried them early, slashing into the lane for a pair of floaters, and Kel’el Ware also got loose in the square. Yet, the defense was the biggest factor, holding the Rockets to 32.1% shooting.

The Heat won 115-105.

Takeaways:

• Norman Powell didn’t play, yet they still had seven double-figure scorers log between 10 and 24 points. Herro stepped up in the third quarter, making five shots in the lane, including a floater from mid-range that got a friendly bounce. Additionally, the Heat run the least amount of screen rolls this season, but they went to it in the fourth quarter to create separation against Houston’s length.

• The defense held the Rockets to 108.2 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 28th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. 

• Adebayo and Ware closed the game together and were a big reason why the Heat could go to the zone. To boot, Adebayo had his second-straight double-double and was the team’s best 3-point shooter (3), plus six of his baskets came in the paint. He’s had an up-and-down season, but he’s been more assertive since mid January, and the team needs more of it. There’s not that many players who can counter his athleticism, when playing forcefully, with their length and strength. 

• Amen Thompson and his twin, Ausar, are the top athletes in the league. The former was carving up the Heat on cuts and showed some of his pull-up jumper early. He scored six of Houston’s first nine points and finished with 20 on 50% shooting, but he missed three critical freebies in the fourth quarter and six for the game.

• Wiggins’ lip was busted, catching an elbow while trying to guard Şengün on a post-up in the third quarter. He went to the locker room to get stitches in his mouth and came back in time for the fourth, and even finished a fastbreak soft jam through contact.