Entering Thursday, the young Houston Rockets had won five straight home games at Toyota Center. This week, to kick off a seven-game homestand, the longest of the season, they won largely with defense. They held both Milwaukee and Phoenix to fewer than 100 points. That equaled their total number of such games during this season’s first 25 games.
That didn’t happen in Thursday’s 111-108 loss (box score) to Miami, which ended the home-court winning streak. But while inconsistent, the Rockets showed flashes of that elite defensive form, particularly by shutting down Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and the Heat over the final five minutes and very nearly rallying to a win.
The problems, of course, came in the first 43 minutes, when Herro scored a career-high 41 points on 13-of-20 shooting (65.0%) and an astounding 10-of-15 from 3-point range (66.7%). Jimmy Butler added 20 points (53.8% FG), 10 rebounds and 7 assists for the Heat (15-15). But with a 9-0 run to finish, Houston showed enough to validate some of its recent improvements, especially on defense.
Kevin Porter Jr. had a strong game for the Rockets with 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting (58.8%) to go with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals, but he missed his last-ditch attempt at a tying 3-pointer.
Backcourt mate Jalen Green scored a team-high 22 points but continued to struggle from 3-point range, making 1-of-6 (16.7%) from deep. Rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. had another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, though he joined Green with 3-point struggles, shooting just 1-of-7 (14.3%) from behind the arc.
Scroll on for highlights, analysis and postgame interview reaction following Thursday’s game. Houston (9-19) plays the fourth game of its longest homestand of the season (seven games in total) on Saturday night versus Portland, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. Central.
Highlights
Analysis and Interviews
The #Rockets held Miami scoreless across the final five minutes of play.
Incredible defense.
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) December 16, 2022
Sheesh. Rough way to lose. https://t.co/zWTqklGQC1
— Danielle Lerner (@danielle_lerner) December 16, 2022
That ball is clearly off Miami and it won't matter.
Wow.
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) December 16, 2022
Wow.@NBAOfficial declines to review this out-of-bounds call in the final play of Rockets-Heat. Heat keep the ball with 2 seconds left. Game over.
It’s possible league rules prevented the officials from reviewing this, but surely call accuracy > time spent reviewing, right? pic.twitter.com/OtFgLqbrZJ
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) December 16, 2022
Daishen Nix was under the weather today
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) December 16, 2022
Stephen Silas said it was frustrating not being able to do anything about the missed out of bounds call at the end of the game, but he wouldn’t have been able to challenge it had he not used his challenge earlier because the Rockets were out of timeouts
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) December 16, 2022
#Rockets' home winning streak comes to an end following Tyler Herro's career night for the Heat.
"The way the first half went, that's not us. And that was the message." — Stephen Silas https://t.co/FNGE8dCewE
— Coty M. Davis (@CotyDavis_24) December 16, 2022
With the Rockets down 3 in the final seconds, Kevin Porter Jr missed a 3, and while the replays seem to show the play ended with the ball off Miami with 2 seconds left, the Heat kept possession. KPJ: "That was a vital missed call..We had effort and we should have been rewarded." pic.twitter.com/6CFWuIgJKd
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) December 16, 2022
.@tytywashington3 played his most meaningful minutes as a rookie (12:11): “It felt like a dream come true.” pic.twitter.com/n0gvnwgHSv
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) December 16, 2022
Jalen Green forces Tyler Herro into an airball! pic.twitter.com/MOyXMVUN4I
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) December 16, 2022
#Rockets fall to the Heat 111-108
Jabari Smith Jr & Stephen Silas talked about the loss pic.twitter.com/xGv3uSuUi1
— AT&T SportsNet™ | SW (@ATTSportsNetSW) December 16, 2022
Rookie TyTy Washington Jr with his 1st extended minutes with the #Rockets @tytywashington3 vs MIA
12 MIN🏀2 PTS🏀5 AST🏀3 REB🏀0 TO@HoustonRockets on AT&T SportsNet pic.twitter.com/4VlRKV1QcO— AT&T SportsNet™ | SW (@ATTSportsNetSW) December 16, 2022
