The Miami HEAT defeated the Houston Rockets 113-104 Sunday afternoon at AmericanAirlines Arena. Ray Allen led the way for the HEAT with 25 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
Impact Performance of the Game: Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen answered the call and came through with clutch performances against the Rockets on Sunday. Allen carried over his hot shooting from Friday night and finished 7-of-11 shooting for 25 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter. This was Allen’s second straight game leading the HEAT in scoring and his highest point total as a member of the HEAT.
Dwyane Wade did a lot of damage in the fourth quarter as well, scoring nine of his 24 in the quarter and often finding Allen for open threes in the corner. Wade shot 10-of-15 and dished out seven assists on the day.
The Deciding Run: Behind Allen and Wade, the HEAT went on a 15-0 run to go up 113-102 with 23 seconds left. The Rockets were held scoreless for more than four minutes until Patrick Beverley hit two free throws with six seconds left in the game.
Earlier, the HEAT had a 12-5 run to start the second quarter that gave them a 44-33 lead with 5:30 to go in the first half. Wade had a nice, over-the-head dribble drive over Jeremy Lin to cap off the run.
Play of the Game: With 6:57 left in the game, Dwyane Wade drove into the lane, absorbed contact from Jeremy Lin and hit the bank shot from just outside the key. He would hit the ensuing foul shot to tie the game at 92. The play happened right after Wade hit the deck to reach for a loose ball on the other end.
Another great play from the HEAT occurred with 5:22 to go in the first quarter. Chris Bosh passed to Wade in the post who then gave it to a sprinting LeBron James down the lane for a huge slam over Dwight Howard.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 115.6; Defensive Efficiency: 111.4
Trend to Watch: Outside of a stretch in the third quarter, the HEAT got back to their defensive principles and were very aggressive against the Rockets on Sunday. Miami came out of the gate very active on defense and played the passing lanes very well. It also fought for every rebound, made the extra pass and got out in transition. It was clear that the team made an emphasis on getting back to Miami HEAT basketball and that should continue the rest of the way as the regular season continues.
The Takeaway: This game looked a whole lot like the previous two, as the HEAT had a tough third quarter in which they lost the lead. Except this time, the fourth quarter rally equated to improved play on both ends of the floor. The HEAT did a great job of closing out on the shooters and rotating quickly in the fourth quarter in addition to the clutch shooting from Allen and Wade.
Notes: Chris Bosh had the jumper going all game and finished 7-of-12 shooting for 18 points. He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
With his 24th point on Sunday, Ray Allen moved to 21st on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
James Harden and Dwight Howard were the top scorers for the Rockets, as they had 30 and 21 points respectively.
Game Highlights: