HEAT DEFEAT ROCKETS
Rockets stumble: VanVleet's 32 points overshadowed by Heat's win
Jan 9, 2024, 10:54 am
Rockets beat the Pistons, 136-113. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
Rockets clobber Pistons, ending three-game skid
Kyle Lowry got hurt and left the game while he was still in the game. He didn't even wait for play to stop, simply exiting the floor and temporarily having Miami play 5-on-4 for a few seconds.
Even that didn't derail the Heat.
Tyler Herro scored 28 points, Bam Adebayo finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds — getting most of that in the second half — and the Heat led almost the entire game on the way to topping the Houston Rockets 120-113 on Monday night.
“The Philly guy in him right now is saying ‘I’ll be all right,'” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Lowry. “He's as tough as you can be in this league. He's played through more things than probably anybody currently playing in this association.”
Lowry was diagnosed with a sprained left hand, then returned to the bench to see Miami finish off the win. Kevin Love scored 15 points for Miami, while Duncan Robinson and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each had 14 for the Heat. Josh Richardson finished with 12 for Miami.
The Heat moved to No. 4 in the Eastern Conference, followed by No. 5 Orlando, No. 6 Indiana, No. 7 Cleveland and No. 8 New York. Those five teams are separated by zero games — all five are exactly 21-15.
Adebayo had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the second half, after his first half was slowed by foul trouble.
“My teammates were looking for me in the second half,” Adebayo said.
Fred VanVleet led all scorers with 32 points for the Rockets, who opened a six-game road trip. Alperen Sengun scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Houston, which got 11 points apiece from Cam Whitmore and Jalen Green. Houston was without Dillon Brooks (right oblique strain) for the seventh consecutive game.
The Heat were without Jimmy Butler for the eighth time in the last nine games as he continues to recover from a right toe joint sprain; Miami improved to 6-2 in those eight absences. Lowry got hurt in the third quarter while defending a layup try by VanVleet — his former Toronto teammate and backcourt mate on the Raptors’ 2019 NBA title team.
Houston is 18-17 through 35 games — a far cry from where the Rockets were at this point in the last three seasons. They were 11-24 in 2020-21, and 10-25 in both 2021-22 and 2022-23, on their way to final totals of 17, 20 and 22 wins in those seasons.
“For me, not surprised or happy,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “They bought in from Day 1 and once you see the competitive side, the mindset, you know you have the right guys there. We had five or six games that we could have flipped the other way.”
The Heat led for 20:48 of the first half, the Rockets led for just 1:26 in that 24-minute span, but the scoreboard didn’t show any such discrepancy. Houston outscored Miami 8-0 in the final 1:27 of the half, and the teams went into the break tied 59-59.
It was only the second halftime tie of the season for both teams. But Miami never trailed in the second half and the Heat edge eventually reached 15 in the fourth.
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Rockets: Visit Chicago on Wednesday.
Heat: Host Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
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A new challenge awaits, and the Astros know what’s at stake
Jun 27, 2025, 2:05 pm
The Houston Astros didn’t just sweep the Philadelphia Phillies. They sent a message.
In three tightly contested games against one of the best teams in baseball, the Astros leaned on their elite pitching and timely offense to secure a statement sweep. Hunter Brown was electric in the finale, shutting down the Phillies’ lineup and showing the kind of dominance that’s become a defining feature of his game. Bryan Abreu slammed the door with four strikeouts to close out the win, and rookie Cam Smith delivered the deciding blow — an RBI single in the eighth to drive in Isaac Paredes, lifting the Astros to a 2-1 victory.
It wasn’t a series filled with offensive fireworks, but that’s exactly the point. Both teams sent out top-tier pitching throughout the series, and Houston was the team that kept finding a way. For much of the season, the Astros’ inconsistent offense might’ve been a concern in a series like this. But this time, it felt different. The bats showed up just enough, and the pitching did the rest.
Now, with Houston on pace for 96 wins at the halfway point, the question becomes: Is the league officially on notice?
Maybe. Maybe not. But one thing is certain, the Astros have the third-best record in baseball, they’re 17-7 in one-run games, and they’re playing with the kind of rhythm that’s defined their near-decade of dominance. Unlike last year’s uneven campaign, this version of the Astros looks like a team that’s rediscovered its edge. Whether or not they need to take care of business against the Cubs to validate it, their recent run leaves little doubt: when Houston is clicking, there are very few teams built to stop them.
Off the field, however, a bit of long-term uncertainty is starting to creep in. Reports surfaced this week that extension talks with shortstop Jeremy Peña have been put on hold as he recently signed with super-agent Scott Boras. The combination has led many to wonder if Peña might follow the same free-agent path as Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, and others before him. Boras clients rarely settle early, and Peña, now one of the most valuable shortstops in the game, could command a price tag the Astros have historically avoided paying.
If Peña and even Hunter Brown are likely to get priced out of Houston, the front office may need to pivot. Isaac Paredes could be the most logical extension candidate on the roster. His approach — particularly his ability to pull the ball with authority — is tailor-made for Daikin Park and the Crawford Boxes. Last year, Paredes struggled to leave the yard at Wrigley Field, but in Houston, he’s thriving. Locking him in long term would give the Astros offensive stability and the kind of value they’ve typically targeted.
As for Cam Smith, the breakout rookie is far from free agency and will remain a cost-controlled piece for years. That’s exactly why his contributions now, like his clutch eighth-inning knock to beat Philadelphia, matter so much. He's one more reason why the Astros don’t just look good right now. They look dangerous.
And the rest of the league is starting to feel it.
There's so much more to get to! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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