Rockets-Heat Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Apr 22 2012 1:38AM

The challenge the Miami Heat face in trying to earn the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference might not be their only concern.

Simply making the playoffs is all that matters to the Houston Rockets.

With the status of injured star Dwyane Wade uncertain, the Heat look to bounce back from a surprising home loss by extending their winning streak over the visiting Rockets to five games Sunday night.

While LeBron James and Chris Bosh got the night off to rest their ailing bodies, Wade dislocated his left index finger early in Saturday's game and played less than three minutes. With its three superstars watching from the sidelines, Miami (45-18) had its five-game winning streak come to an end with an 86-84 loss to lowly Washington.

With three games remaining, the Heat fell 2 1/2 games behind Chicago for the top seed in the East.

"Second place is not a bad place to be," said Wade, who underwent X-rays that were negative and said he should be fine for the upcoming playoffs.

While the Heat still have a slim chance to surpass the Bulls for the top spot in the East, it's uncertain how much more regular-season time James, Wade or Bosh will see.

"Obviously the standings are something that we're aware of," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And when you have an opportunity to play for it, you do. But in terms of it being bigger than anything ... I think players have the proper perspective about it."

Averaging 30.3 points on 55.3 percent shooting in his last four games, James could be the most likely of the three to play Sunday. He had 33 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in Miami's 125-119 home win over Houston in the teams' last meeting March 27, 2011.

Bosh, who has sat the last three games to heal some minor ailments, had 31 points and 12 boards in that contest.

While the Heat have the luxury of resting their top players, Houston (33-31) needs everybody in uniform as it remains in the mix with Utah and Phoenix for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West with two games left. Houston has not reached the playoffs since 2009, despite posting a winning record in each of the last two seasons.

The Rockets, currently 10th in the conference and one game behind the eighth-place Jazz, snapped a season-high six-game skid Saturday with a 99-96 home win over Golden State.

"We've been thinking about games and possibilities," said forward Luis Scola, who scored 13 points against the Warriors. "We've got to go to Miami and win one basketball game and hopefully, just hopefully, at the end of the day, we'll still have chances."

Courtney Lee had 20 points and Goran Dragic added 18 as the Rockets held on despite scoring only 41 points in the second half.

"We needed to find a way to win one," said Houston coach Kevin McHale, whose team had allowed 107.2 points per game during the six-game losing streak. "But it was another one of those games where we really weren't at the top of our game."

Houston lost both meetings with Miami last season by identical 125-119 scores. Scola totaled 50 points in those contests while shooting 23 of 43.

James, Heat win home finale over Houston, 97-88

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Apr 22 2012 10:02PM

MIAMI (AP) As LeBron James was walking to Miami's home bench for the final time this regular season, he raised his left arm to acknowledge the roars of another sold-out crowd. And when the obligatory "M-V-P" chants started up, James waved again.

He'll be back next weekend, with bigger goals in mind.

James finished with 32 points and eight rebounds, Norris Cole added 16 points and the Heat pulled away in the final minutes to beat Houston 97-88 on Sunday night and eliminate the Rockets from postseason contention.

"It's very humbling, honestly," James said. "The fans have been amazing this year and they're going to continue to be amazing going into the postseason. ... It's humbling."

Mike Miller scored 11 for injury-depleted Miami, which still has a mathematical chance of catching Chicago for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Joel Anthony added 11 for the Heat on 5-for-5 shooting.

But James controlled the game, especially late as Miami needed a 31-19 fourth quarter to win its regular-season home finale. The Heat played without starters Dwyane Wade (dislocated left index finger), Chris Bosh (leg muscle fatigue) and Mario Chalmers (flulike symptoms). Backup center Ronny Turiaf missed his seventh straight game while recovering from a hamstring problem.

On this night, they could relax and enjoy.

"I think LeBron is having a historic season," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Chandler Parsons scored a career-high 23 for Houston, which led by as many as 13 in the first half. Parsons tied the game at 83 with a layup late in the fourth, before James' 3-pointer sparked an 8-0 run that put Miami in control.

Goran Dragic scored 16, while Courtney Lee and Patrick Patterson had 14 apiece for the Rockets. Luis Scola scored 12.

"We had chances," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "The game was kind of in the balance at 83-all. They got some separation. LeBron is a hell of a player."

Houston missed the playoffs for the third straight year, even though it won't finish below .500 in any of them.

"Failure is a horrible word, I don't like it and I don't consider it a failure," Scola said. "Our goal was to make the playoffs and we are hurt because we couldn't qualify. But a failure? No, I don't see it that way."

It's unclear if Wade - who after getting hurt on Saturday said he will be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs next weekend - will play in either of Miami's two remaining regular-season games, at Boston on Tuesday and at Washington on Thursday.

Miami would like to have Bosh and Turiaf back for at least a portion of that road trip, and Chalmers is listed as day-to-day. He was a late scratch from Miami's starting lineup on Sunday.

And for that matter, James - who sat out Saturday's loss to rest, though said it wasn't exactly a refreshing one-day break - might not play again before the postseason starts, either, saying he would like some rest, although Spoelstra said he'll evaluate the who-plays-and-who-doesn't issue daily.

So it was yet another pieced-together starting lineup that Miami sent to open the game, the 16th different one for the Heat this season - and their seventh in their last seven games.

And things didn't start well.

The Heat missed their first six shots and trailed 23-10 after Scola made a hook shot with 3:54 left in the opening quarter. Houston's lead was still double digits at 38-28 with 6:59 remaining until halftime, before Miami used a 17-6 run to take a one-point lead at intermission. Miller's 3-pointer with 25 seconds left gave the Heat their first - and only - lead of the half, 45-44.

Parsons had his second-best scoring quarter of the season in the third, finishing with 12 of Houston's 25 as the Rockets took a 69-66 lead into the fourth. Back and forth it went, the game being tied on four separate occasions in the final quarter, the last of those coming when Parsons drove on James for a layup and his 23rd point, setting the season best for the rookie.

"Fortunately, I hit shots," Parsons said. "My teammates got me open. I just hate losing so at the end it doesn't matter how well I played. A loss is a loss."

Playing back in his home state for the first time as a pro, Parsons finished 10 for 13 from the floor. He spent four seasons at Florida, appearing in 142 games and averaging 10.2 points before the Rockets grabbed him in the second round of last year's draft.

"It was great," Parsons said. "I had a lot of family and friends here. You always want to play well for them but at the end of the day you want to get the win. It was a good learning experience and it's exciting to be back in Florida."

After that last tie, James took aim from the left wing and hit a 3-pointer over Parsons to put Miami up for good. And following a steal by Shane Battier, Miller added another 3 from the right corner 24 seconds later to give the Heat what was then their biggest lead at 89-83.

"Those are the kind of wins that coaches like, when there's segments of the game where it's just tough and ugly," Spoelstra said. "We went through a few spells offensively where the ball was just not going in. and we stayed in it mentally."

NOTES: Miami finished the regular season 28-5 at home, the second-best percentage in team history. The Heat will finish no worse than tied for the NBA lead in home wins this season. ... Houston's Kyle Lowry did not play and is expected to sit the Rockets' regular-season finale against New Orleans as well. He missed 15 games after the All-Star break because of a bacterial infection and struggled since returning. ... Udonis Haslem had a game-high 11 rebounds for Miami.

Notebook: Heat 93, Rockets 85

Posted Sunday April 22, 2012 9:35PM

By Shandel D. Richardson, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat rallied from a 13-point, first-half deficit to defeat the Houston Rockets 97-88 Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

The Heat, playing without guard Dwyane Wade and forward Chris Bosh, turned to LeBron James in the regular-season home finale. James finished with a game-high 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists. James sealed it with a baseline jam that made it 93-85 with under a minute remaining.

The victory keeps the Heat's slim hopes alive of earning the top seed in the Eastern Conference. They trail the Chicago Bulls by two games. Miami would have to win out while the Bulls lose their remaining games against the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Rockets, meanwhile, had their postseason hopes dashed with the loss. Houston was led by rookie forward Chandler Parsons' 23 points and six rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "Those are the kind of wins that coaches like where there's segments of the game where it's tough, it's ugly. We went through a few spells offensively where the ball wasn't going in. We had to stay in it mentally ... We had to get some easy ones and then break it open at the end."
-- Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.

THE STAT: The Heat outscored the Rockets 31-19 in the decisive fourth quarter.

TURNING POINT: The Rockets led 79-73 with 6:31 remaining before James took over in the fourth quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "We had our chances to win. The game was kind of in the balance, it was 83 all at the three-minute mark and had a time out. LeBron hit a big 3-pointer in the slot and then Mike Miller hit a three in front of our bench."
-- Rockets head coach Kevin McHale.

HOT: Parsons turned in a career night in his home state. The former Florida Gator kept the Rockets alive with his outside shooting in what has turned out to be a solid rookie season. He was 10-of-13 from the field.

NOT: It wasn't the best of shooting nights for Heat forwards James Jones and Udonis Haslem, who combined to hit 2-of-16 from the field.

GOOD MOVE: With Wade and Bosh sitting, the Heat continued to work out their rotation kinks. Swingman Mike Miller and forward Udonis Haslem received valuable minutes that should be beneficial once the postseason begins.

BAD MOVE: The Heat were without three starters, yet somehow the Rockets were unable to capitalize. The performance was especially disappointing considering Houston had so much on the line. It will miss the playoffs for the third straight year.

NOTABLE: Heat center Ronny Turiaf did not play for the seventh straight because of a hamstring injury. Bosh is expected to return for the regular season ends, possibly for Tuesday's game against Celtics. Guard Mario Chalmers missed the game because of the flu. The Rockets announced Kyle Lowry (sports hernia) and Kevin Martin (shoulder) are done for the season.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Tuesday @ Celtics, Thursday @ Wizards. For the Rockets, Thursday @ Rockets.

• Rockets: Fortson, Simpson, Smith
• Heat: Bosh, Turiaf

• Rockets: --
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #75 Eric Dalen, #16 David Guthrie
• Attendance: 19859
• Duration: 2:14