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.
UP NEXT
Rockets: Visit Chicago on Wednesday.
Heat: Host Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Sunday night matchups don't get much exciting than this, as the Houston Texans host the Detroit Lions in prime-time at NRG.
The Lions come into this game on a six-game winning streak looking every bit of the best team in football. Houston on the other hand has lost two of their last three games with a struggling offense unable to protect their quarterback.
CJ Stroud has only one passing touchdown over this span, and is clearly having trouble adjusting to life without Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins.
If Houston is going to come away with an upset victory, they will need big performances from Tank Dell and Joe Mixon. After catching 4 passes against the Colts two weeks ago, Mixon not only failed to catch a single pass against the Jets, but he wasn't even targeted.
Considering the Texans' offensive line issues, choosing not to use Mixon as a pass catcher is hard to fathom. Especially since he and Dell are the team's top 2 playmakers.
What's working in the Texans' favor?
They play this game at home, where they are undefeated this season. A lot of the team's protection issues have popped up on the road, so communication should be easier for the offense on their home turf.
Bulls on Parade
We have good news and bad news about the defense this week. On the positive side, Azeez Al-Shaair and Jimmy Ward have returned to practice. If they're able to contribute on Sunday night, that would give the defense a lift.
And now for the bad news. Will Anderson has yet to practice this week after rolling his ankle in the Jets game. If he is unable to practice on Friday, it's hard to imagine he'll be active against Detroit.
X-factors
The Texans have to show some improvement on the offensive line this week.
Houston must lean on Joe Mixon again, as Nico Collins isn't expected to play.
Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the best receivers in the league, and he does most of his damage from the slot. If the Texans continue to deploy Jalen Pitre against premier receivers in man coverage, St. Brown is going to light up the scoreboard.
What would a win over the Lions mean to Houston?
The Texans are no longer considered a true championship contender because of their losses to the Packers, Vikings, and Jets. In fact, the Bills are the only team with a winning record that the Texans have beaten.
An upset win over the streaking Lions would change that narrative.
What does Vegas think?
The Lions are currently favored by 3.5 and the total is set at 49 points.
Don't miss the full preview of Texans-Lions in the video above!
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